Several council members and Mayor Bruce Harrell say these steps are necessary to combat years of mass resignations and slowed hiring in the department.
Council members passed two items out of the May 10 Public Safety and Human Services Committee: a resolution stating their support for funding a hiring incentive program and a proposed ordinance that would allow SPD to pay moving expenses for experienced officers coming from other departments, as well as hire a recruiter and pay for a recruitment ad campaign.
The department has lost nearly 400 officers since January 2020, hiring only 145 in that same timeframe. Seattle’s experience is part of a national trend of U.S.
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