CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION relating to the Seattle Police Department; stating the Council's intent to lift a proviso on anticipated 2022 salary and benefits savings to fund staffing incentives for uniformed police officers.
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WHEREAS, the Charter of the City of Seattle is the Law of the City for the purpose of protecting and enhancing the health, safety, environment, and general welfare of the people; and
WHEREAS, Article VI Section 1 of the Charter of the City of Seattle states, "There shall be maintained adequate police protection in each district in the City"; and
WHEREAS, according to the Seattle Police Department 2021 Year-End Crime Report, incidents of violent crime increased by 20 percent, including a 24 percent increase in aggravated assaults, compared to 2020 totals; and
WHEREAS, according to the Seattle Police Department 2021 Year-End Crime Report, incidents of property crime increased by nine percent, including a 31 percent in incidents of arson, compared to 2020 totals; and
WHEREAS, according to the Seattle Police Department's May 12, 2022 Shots Fired Report, Year-To-Date (YTD) gun fatalities increased 100 percent compared to YTD 2021 with the total number of 17 homicides YTD representing a 54 percent increase compared to 11 homicides YTD in 2021; and
WHEREAS, there has been a reduction of 332 in-service officers since January 2020, representing a 26 percent reduction of in-service officer staff; and
WHEREAS, the response time to a given service call will be longer when fewer officers are available to respond to these calls in the aggregate; and
WHEREAS, the current median response time to Priority 1 9-1-1 calls is 7.34 minutes, the current median response time to Priority 2 9-1-1 calls is 22.9 minutes, and currently officers are not dispatched to Priority 3 and Priority 4 9-1-1 calls; and
WHEREAS, since the summer of 2021, non-patrol officers, including investigators, have been redeployed to 9-1-1 response, ...
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