Seattle City Wire

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best recently addressed fellow officers and city officials in a message regarding how a potential 50% budget cut could affect the department, particularly the diversity of the department.

The message, which was posted to the police department’s website, was sent to Mayor Jenny Durkan and other city officials.

“While the Seattle Police Department (SPD) is still assessing the potential cuts the Seattle City Council will offer, there are clear and urgent public safety issues I must make you aware of to inform the broader budget discussion,” Best said in his message.

While Best noted the department’s willingness to engage in discussions with both the city council and the public, she also said that the city council has not made any effort to involve any representative of the department in discussions about cutting the department’s budget by half. Either in regard to what the impact of those cuts would be, or in seeking the best way to make those cuts in a way that best-serves the council’s goals.

In order to continue to provide 911 emergency response, Best said that a 50% cut would require the department – where 82% of the budget is spent on wages – to fire an estimated 1,100 employees in the final months of the year, with the remaining patrol officer focused solely on 911 response and a hobbling on the department’s capacity to conduct investigations.