SEATTLE — Seattle Police are celebrating a boost in hiring and a surge in applications for open positions.
The department brought in 84 recruits in 2024, the highest number since 2019. It’s also the first time since 2019 that the number of new officers joining Seattle Police has surpassed the number of officers leaving.
“We’re doing a lot of mock scenes where we go out and do traffic stops, we do building searches,” said Greg Kramer, one of the recruits at SPD.
Kramer previously served in the Coast Guard and worked as a cruise captain. Law enforcement always felt like a calling.
“There’s no better time than now,” he said. “If I don’t do it, who will?”
Hiring has been a major priority for the department, after dealing with critical shortages the past few years.
“Five years ago, COVID and George Floyd all happened around the same time and you saw officers leaving the profession,” said Monica Alexander, Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Training Commission, which trains SPD recruits for just over four months. “I think people have finally kind of gotten over that.”
Applications surged for Seattle Police. In 2024, the department received more than double the amount of applications received in 2023.
The City has focused on streamlining the hiring process, expanding marketing efforts and implementing a new officer contract. SPD has also expanded its wellness offerings for officers on staff.
SPD still isn’t out of the woods just yet. The number of deployable officers is still 348 lower than it was in 2019.
“It’s not going to be an overnight process,” said Seattle Police Officer Britt Kelly, helping train recruits.
Kelly said hiring is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to curbing crime across the city.
“It takes a long time to get a recruit up and even out the door to patrol,” she said. “It’s a little slow wave that needs to happen, but I think in the next couple of years we’re going to see a huge change in that.”
“I honestly just hope we can make an impact,” Kramer said. “Not just on this city but on people who live and work in this city.”
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