Washington has too few police officers. This proposal could help cut the crime rate
Washington ranks among the worst states in several categories, including murders, auto theft and retail theft. A key reason is that we also rank 51st nationally — dead last — for the number of law-enforcement officers per capita. It should come as no surprise that the number of law-enforcement officers in Washington has not kept pace with its growing population.
This chronic shortage of officers in our state has created major consequences for public safety, such as reduced capacity for crime prevention, delayed justice for victims and reduced effectiveness in trying to de-escalate crime incidents.
As a retired police officer, I know we need more officers in our communities and on our roads. That is why I have reintroduced a bill this year to increase public safety by increasing the number of law-enforcement officers in Washington communities. The bipartisan bill is co-sponsored by 12 other senators, including Sen. Manka Dhingra, who as chair of the Law and Justice Committee is my Democratic counterpart on that panel.
Senate Bill 5060 would have the state Criminal Justice Training Commission develop and implement a grant program to help local and tribal governments hire law-enforcement officers. A $100 million appropriation from the state general fund would support the grant program.
SB 5060 also would require the CJTC to establish policies for grant applications from local agencies, including review criteria and reporting requirements from local governments, and annually report on the grant program's utilization, application and hiring data.
The bill was passed earlier this session by the Senate Law and Justice Committee following a public hearing. It now awaits a vote from the Senate Ways and Means Committee, where it received a public hearing on Feb. 3.
Those public hearings attracted strong testimony from proponents ranging from Spokane Valley City Councilmember Rod Higgins to officials with the governor's office, the city of Tacoma, the Association of Washington Cities and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
With this bill, the supporters said, we can move closer to a shared goal of a safer Washington. One pointed out the bill will help defray the costs of hiring new officers, which in turn responds to what another backer noted: how law-enforcement agencies need more staffing if they are to respond to public calls for service in minutes rather than hours.
Another bill supporter told legislators that Washington's per-capita rate of law-enforcement officers has not only been the nation's lowest for 14 years, it also hasn't been this low in our state since 1980. Just to match the nation's second-lowest officer per capita rate, Washington would need to hire an additional 1,370 officers.
I've introduced this bill in past sessions only to see it fall short, but I am more optimistic this time around. During his inaugural address to legislators in January, Gov. Bob Ferguson said he would not sign a new operating budget if it did not provide the $100 million in funding for this program.
It is encouraging that he has publicly supported this bill, especially since his predecessor, Jay Inslee, would not. The new governor not only understands the need to increase the number of law-enforcement officers in our state, but he also believes the best route is through this proposed grant program.
Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, serves the 6th Legislative District. He is ranking Republican on the Senate Law and Justice Committee.
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