SPD interim chief calls for hiring process changes as staffing woes continue

(The Center Square) – Interim Police Chief Sue Rahr informed members of the Seattle City Council of the department's continuing staffing woes, saying she is seeking changes to the hiring process to include a larger pool of recruits.

The city planned to hire 65 officers through June of this year. Instead, the department has only managed to hire 21 officers, 68% less than planned, according to a presentation to the Seattle Public Safety Committee on Tuesday. The Seattle Police Department originally projected 120 hires for all of 2024, but has since revised the yearly projection to 100.

The department anticipated 63 separations through the first six months of the year, but only 55 have been realized.

Since the beginning of 2020, the number of fully trained officers within the Seattle Police Department has decreased by 360 officers.

Rahr showed data regarding the number of calls SPD received during a recent Saturday night to highlight the department’s staffing levels. On that Saturday night, SPD was down multiple officers in every single precinct.

She pointed to the north precinct, which has been a special focus for SPD due to shootings on Aurora Avenue. There are 10 officers on duty for that entire precinct. A shooting on Aurora Avenue means six to seven officers are needed to shut down the street, give aid to a victim and respond to the incident. Meanwhile there are other calls coming in, with response times increasing.

Rahr is seeking changes to the city’s hiring process to establish a larger pool of candidates, “because that is the key to getting more officers hired.”

“We need to have a large pool of candidates [and] so we can meet our diversity goals, so we can get the best and brightest in the door,” Rahr said during the Public Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday. “We are in an extremely competitive market, most people who come into policing are testing for multiple agencies, so it’s really a footrace to see who can offer a job more quickly.”

The interim police chief is also exploring opportunities to implement an internal IT unit within SPD to help handle databases or share one with the Seattle Fire Department.

SPD is also experiencing issues with its personnel management system. Rahr said that due to the department having so many complex pay ranges and collective bargaining agreements, “it’s going to be very tricky to be able to switch over and make sure everyone is properly paid.”

Last May, the Seattle City Council approved Council Bill 120766 , which transfers three positions from the Seattle Department of Human Resources to SPD and creates a recruitment and retention program within the police department.

With the transfer of three positions to the SPD, the ordinance adds an ongoing general fund cost of approximately $146,000.