SPD should review marketing strategy and pay to attract new officers

The Seattle Police Department is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar recruitment drive after hundreds of officers retire, transfer to other jurisdictions or change jobs altogether.

But attracting top talent requires more than just bonuses, it also requires the allure of working in a beautiful city with relatively little violent crime. Officials will need to be more creative in marketing the police department and the city of Seattle itself to hire more officers to ensure faster police response. The median response time for priority 1 calls is now 7.8 minutes. The median response time for priority 2 is 32.7 minutes. The median response time for priorities 3 and 4 is 81.1 minutes, according to the city.

We also have to contend with entry-level salaries that rank much lower than many neighboring communities.

As of late January, the department, which serves a city of about 779,000 people, had 913 deployable officers (sworn officers who were not on leave). This is the lowest number of police officers since the early 1990s, when the population was just over 520,000. The department has lost more than 700 police officers since 2019.

Mayor Bruce Harrell has set a goal of increasing the number of police officers to 1,400. Starting in 2022, the city has made strides in recruiting at job fairs, universities and military bases, and advertising on social media, billboards and television.

The city has also reduced the time between SPD receiving an application and hiring from nine months to three to four months, Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess said. Instead of traveling to Seattle, test takers can take the agility test anywhere in the country it is administered. Burgess said the city has poured more than $1 million into marketing, increasing from a high of just $100,000 a year through 2022.

Still, despite ramping up recruitment, only 61 police officers were hired in 2023, and 97 retired in the same year. This is a decrease compared to 2022, when 159 police officers retired.

SPD offers new employees a $7,500 incentive bonus and up to $30,000 for officers transferring from other departments. However, research on recruiting, hiring and retention suggests that incentive pay is less important than compensation and benefits when it comes to why new hires choose SPD.

If an officer leaves the department within five years, the hiring bonus must be returned. This is longer than many divisions. One year in Kent and three years in Bellevue.

But what sets Seattle apart from other cities is the opportunity for growth and development, which is likely greater in larger sectors.

The City of Seattle must continue its national advertising and recruitment efforts, which have already increased the number of applicants to about 270 per month. But to compete with the top five communities for candidates, Seattle would have to raise its starting salary by $83,000 to $101,800 in Redmond, $96,200 in Kent, $95,800 in Bellevue, They should consider competing with Everett’s $94,100 and Edmond’s $93,700.

But because the City uses pay, bonuses, benefits, and marketing to advance through the ranks, the honor, character, and integrity of new employees must be paramount.