Summer violence sparks concern amid Seattle Police shortage

Summer violence renews calls to address Seattle Police shortage

Crime scene after crime scene, victim after victim — Summer 2024 is off to a violent start in Seattle. But the head of Seattle's Police Officers Guild says that, in a season when crimes reaches its peak, he expects more cops to leave the force.

SEATTLE - Seattle is only a few days into Summer 2024, and the city has already seen several violent crimes. Some incidents resulted in critical injuries and death. Now, there is a growing fear the violence could get worse this season and impact public safety. However, the recent spike in crime presents new challenges for the Seattle Police Department (SPD), which is already short on available officers.

"As the summer months wane on, you’re going to see more strains on staffing," said Mike Solan, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild. "I’m worried about the victims in this city and the public safety piece of it. Because cops want to serve, we just need the numbers of people to be able to effectively serve."

Currently, there are about 750 active and deployable officers at SPD, but that’s not nearly enough for a city the size of Seattle.

Solan said more than 700 officers have left the police department in the past four years. In a season when crime rises and officers are needed most, the union president said he expects to see departures this summer.

"Since mid-June, we’ve already lost 42 officers. Lost meaning separated from employment, and we’ve only gained 20 recruits. And that doesn’t really bode well in terms of confidence that we’re outlasting separations due to new hires. It’s not improving," said Solan. "If we continue down this path, we’re losing double the amount we’re gaining and that’s not okay for the foreseeable future. That’s not a viable product to put out to the community."

Solan used SPD’s North Precinct as an example to show how strained staffing levels are. He said a minimum of 15 officers are needed to work the first watch shift from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. On June 15, Solan noted, the shift only had 11 officers serving the entire North Precinct. On that same day, the second watch shift had only 15 of the minimum required 22 officers, and the third watch shift was staffed with 13 officers out of the minimum 20.

"I know this morning’s first watch they only had four working. Four," said Solan. "If you have a really busy shift, there’s a lot of calls for service that aren’t being answered in a timely fashion that they should be in a reasonable amount of time. And that’s the problem we’re experiencing."

He said police are currently trying to fill that gap with overtime.

"The only reason we’re able to answer the calls that we are at the time frame we currently are trying to meet is due to overtime. Officers in their off-duty capacity coming into the city to work a patrol shift," said Solan. "You cannot run a thriving agency on overtime. And I think it’s reflective of the drastic decisions three, four years ago of defunding this police department and politically targeting police officers just for being cops. Now you’re seeing those catastrophic decisions take hold, and the community is at risk."

Recognizing overtime is not the answer, the Mayor’s Office said finding solutions is a "critical priority" for retention and recruitment. Since Mayor Bruce Harell signed a new police contract in May, officials said applications have increased two and a half times, "from an average of 5.6 per day last year to more than 14.1 per day."

"As part of the City's innovative marketing to attract more police recruits, we will launch a new multi-channel campaign this summer highlighting the heroism officers demonstrate daily, the positive impact they have, and the many ways they serve and protect our community," said officials with the Mayor’s Office.

While Solan said the union was pleased with the new police contract, it’s not enough to rebuild the force.

"We have to empower the legislature and empower voters, the people that are the victims of these crimes, to course correct in Olympia. We have to change the policies that were sadly put in place post-2020 that I think are detrimental to the public safety of everybody," said Solan.

The Mayor’s Office said it’s also exploring ideas to boost recruiting and reduce the onboarding time of new officers as much as possible.

"We know it takes months from when someone applies to when they are included in the new hires column. This is also why we have asked the Public Safety Civil Service Commission to validate another entry test service bureau. We aim to expand the candidate pool without sacrificing quality," said officials with the Mayor’s Office.

The union president said he cautions city leaders when considering standards to attract quality, qualified candidates to SPD.

"If we lessen the standards just because the pressure of getting someone to answer that 911 call, then we’re going down a rabbit hole that we don’t want to go down, and then we continue with this long process," said Solan.

Mayor Harrell recently passed an executive order to reduce violence in Seattle immediately and over the long term. Some of the actions include:

Dedicating $2 million this year in new funding toward youth violence prevention, intervention, and interruption programs
Moving forward with the Crime Prevention Technology Pilot in three targeted neighborhoods that suffer from a disproportionate amount of criminal activity
Convening King County, Seattle Public Schools, community-based violence interrupters, law enforcement and other stakeholders to develop and implement a "100 Days of Action" focused violence prevention campaign
Commissioning a 2024 report to track firearms and improve partnerships addressing dangerous and illegal guns with the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)

Solan said he is seeing progress and credits Mayor Harell and the Seattle City Council for collaborative efforts to address needs in the police department and public safety.

Solan said he also agrees with the Mayor’s Office that Interim Chief Sue Rahr is already making strides in bringing her recruiting expertise to the department. City officials said Rahr will be "critical in improving the hiring and retention of officers, especially as we seek to hire more women and ensure a representative department for the community it serves."