The Seattle Police Division is within the midst of a multimillion-dollar push to replenish its ranks after lots of of law enforcement officials have retired, moved to different jurisdictions or modified careers altogether.
However it’s going to take extra than simply bonuses, and the lure of working in a wonderful metropolis the place violent crime is comparatively low, to draw one of the best and the brightest. Officers should grow to be much more inventive of their advertising and marketing of the police division, and town of Seattle itself, to rent extra officers to make sure faster police responses. Median response time for precedence one calls is now 7.8 minutes; precedence two median response time is 32.7 minutes; and precedence three and 4 median response occasions are 81.1 minutes, in response to town.
It additionally should tackle entry-level salaries, which rank effectively under many close by communities.
As of late January, there have been 913 deployable officers (sworn officers who aren’t on depart) within the division that serves a metropolis of about 779,000. That isfewest officers because the early Nineties when the inhabitants was simply over 520,000. The division has misplaced over 700 officers since 2019.
Mayor Bruce Harrell has a purpose of 1,400 officers. Since 2022, town has made strides in recruiting at job gala’s, schools, army bases and promoting on social media, billboards and TV.
Town has additionally shortened the time between when SPD receives an utility to creating a rent from 9 months to 3 to 4 months, Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess stated. Candidates can also take their agility check wherever it’s provided within the nation as an alternative of touring to Seattle. Town has poured greater than $1 million into advertising and marketing, up from an annual most of simply $100,000 within the years main as much as 2022, Burgess stated.
Nonetheless, even with boosted recruitment, solely 61 officers have been employed in 2023. Additionally in that yr, 97 left. That’s a lower in comparison with 2022, when 159 officers left.
The SPD is providing new recruits $7,500 incentive bonuses and as much as $30,000 for officers who switch from one other division. But, incentive pay seems to not depend as a lot as wage and advantages in relation to why new hires select SPD, in response to a hiring, recruitment and retention survey.
If officers depart the division inside 5 years, they must pay again their hiring bonus. That’s longer than many departments; in Kent, it’s one yr and three in Bellevue.
However what separates Seattle from different cities is the possibility for development and growth, which is probably going better in a bigger division.
Seattle should proceed its nationwide promoting and recruitment efforts which have already yielded an uptick in functions to roughly 270 per thirty days. However to compete with the highest 5 communities for candidates, Seattle should contemplate elevating its entry-level wage of $83,000 to compete with Redmond at $101,800, Kent at $96,200, Bellevue at $95,800, Everett at $94,100 and Edmonds at $93,700.
Nonetheless, as town makes use of wage, bonuses, advantages and advertising and marketing to extend its ranks, honor, character and integrity amongst its recruits have to be paramount.
