A new approach to recruiting, for an old vocation.

Over the last several years, Washington state has had a law enforcement problem. Specifically, not enough officers to do the job. That's not a recruiting issue. It's not about pay or hours, it's all about training and up until last year there was an incredible backlog of people in training not yet ready to serve. 

According to king5.com,
‘KING 5 discovered one of the biggest reasons isn’t about pay or burnout, but a backlog of recruits that need to be trained. By 2022 recruits were waiting up to a year to enter the academy, and it could be 18 months by the time new officers were patrolling the streets. It leaves law enforcement positions unfilled and costs those departments. Recruits are paid while they wait for their spot in the academy.’ 

 At one point, there were between 500 to 600 recruits waiting for training. Now they're down to 16. Up until last year, the only place for training was located in Burien. Now there are several locations, including one in Vancouver and another in Pasco.  

Even now the state of Washington ranks last in the nation for number of police officers per capita and it has stayed at or near that level for over a decade. 

According to king5.com,
‘The new regional academies cover all the requirements. That includes classroom hours, defensive training in the gym, mock scenarios like traffic stops and target practice on the shooting range.’ 

To me, this is all good news. We need more well-trained police officers in Washington state. Whether it's city, county or state. 

The new statewide approach to recruit more police officers in Washington | king5.com
2022 Police Employment Statistics | SafeHome.org