For Seattle’s political elite, one issue has become an inescapable enigma: It seems like no one wants to be a police officer. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city has lost 612 officers, far more than the 251 officers who have been recruited.
While the rate of attrition slowed in 2023, it will be nearly impossible for the Seattle Police Department (SPD) to recover to pre-pandemic staffing levels in the near future. Sworn SPD staffing levels are now hitting the lowest levels since the 1990s. ...