from
https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle-police-staffing-shortage-action-needed-councilmembers-say/281-c3f43855-f877-4ba9-a37b-aeaf27e1ec67

(Seattle threatened to layoff, and then insulted, and threatened
to discipline it's employees that are a in a very marketable
job position nationwide, and then they wonder why they can
not just throw a switch and get new ones??!!)

Seattle Police Department reaches lowest staffing level in 30 years
More than 700 police officers left the Seattle Police Department in the
past five years. The department is now at its lowest staffing level in
30 years.

Author: Conner Board
Published: 6:42 PM PDT March 12, 2024
Updated: 6:42 PM PDT March 12, 2024
Facebook
SEATTLE — With the police department at its lowest staffing level in
approximately 30 years, several Seattle City Council members said their
top priority is increasing police department staffing and that urgent
action needs to be taken.

The Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee received an update on
March 12 about police recruitment and retention from the Seattle Public
Safety Civil Service Commission and the Seattle Police Department (SPD).

"I think if rock bottom was ever a thing, we are probably here" said
District 1 councilmember Rob Saka.

The Seattle Police Department has lost more than 700 officers in the
past five years and is at its lowest staffing level since the 1990s.
Currently, the department has 913 actively working police officers.

“This council is extremely worried about staffing levels,” said Seattle
City Council president and citywide councilmember Sara Nelson.

The department said it has seen staffing levels decrease every year
since 2019. As of March 12, the force is down 375 officers.

“We're already at critical levels,” said Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz.

Diaz said the shortage is impacting how police can serve the city. Diaz
said his goal is to hire on 125 police officers this year.

“We are really struggling to make sure we maintain all the calls that
are impacting, not just to maintain the calls, but also investigating
those calls and also doing the other type of tactics that actually make
for safer outcomes for the community,” said Diaz.

One recruitment factor discussed was salary. In western Washington,
Redmond, Kent, and Bellevue pay officers the highest entry pay.

Seattle is 15th on the list, paying entry level officers an annual
salary of $83,000. “I think that they deserve to be the highest paid,”
said Diaz.

Nelson said police staffing is Seattle's No. 1 problem -- and should be
the council's top priority for spending.

Over the past two years, the city implemented hiring bonuses of $7,500
for new recruits and $30,000 lateral transfers. The city also
implemented changes to recruitment messaging and advertising. In order
to help retention, the department changed to a four-day patrol schedule
with 10 hour shifts.

A big focus at the meeting was on faster and more efficient recruiting.
Currently, it takes more than a year from when someone applies to be an
officer to when they can patrol.

In 2023, more than 1,900 people applied to be a Seattle police officer
and only 62 people were hired.

“We are falling short on the on some of the most basic things that we
can do to take advantage of the people that do apply and want to work
for the Seattle Police Department,” said Nelson.

Nelson said that in the past she was frustrated that other city leaders
did not match her urgency on this issue, but she thinks beneficial
changes will come with a new council in place.

“We're trying to remove barriers to applying and getting hired here, and
that's what you heard today,” said Nelson. “And it's so invigorating
that now I have colleagues that are with me on this.”

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