City Hall
DSA: Seattle Has Fewer Cops Per Capita Than 10 Years Ago
This post has been updated with comments from Mayor Mike McGinn.
In response to a statement by Mayor Mike McGinn that the city of Seattle has "more officers on patrol than at any time in recent history,” the Downtown Seattle Association released a report yesterday showing that Seattle has fewer sworn officers per capita than it did ten years ago. McGinn has said that in light of ongoing budget shortfalls, he will not support hiring 21 new officers the city had planned to hire this year as part of its neighborhood-policing plan.
In 2000, the DSA's report says, the city had a population of 563,373 and a force of 1,264 sworn officers, or 2.24 officers per thousand residents. In 2010, Seattle had 617,334 residents and 1,338 officers, or 2.16 officers per thousand residents. "The total number of patrol officers ... declined steadily for the first half of the decade and did not recover to 2000 levels until 2007. Today, there are just 30 more patrol officers than in the year 2000," the report concludes.
In a letter to McGinn in April, DSA board chair Jane Nelson said the group was "deeply troubled that hiring 20 additional officers through the 2010 budget has not occurred. While we appreciate your support for more foot patrols Downtown ... this effort did not result in a net increase of new officers in the Downtown neighborhood. Rather, the effort simply moved officers from patrolling on bikes to patrolling on foot."
After a press briefing today, McGinn handed PubliCola his own chart showing that, in terms of raw numbers, the number of officers on the police force has increased (something the DSA didn't dispute in its report). He also noted that serious crimes have gone down significantly, from 126 in 1990 to 80 in 2000 to 63 in 2000. (I couldn't resist teasing McGinn about his chart, pointing out that its "Y" axis started at 1,140 and went to 1,300, making it appear as though the number of officers had tripled. He laughed and told me it was a common way of portraying information.)
In response to a statement by Mayor Mike McGinn that the city of Seattle has "more officers on patrol than at any time in recent history,” the Downtown Seattle Association released a report yesterday showing that Seattle has fewer sworn officers per capita than it did ten years ago. McGinn has said that in light of ongoing budget shortfalls, he will not support hiring 21 new officers the city had planned to hire this year as part of its neighborhood-policing plan.
In 2000, the DSA's report says, the city had a population of 563,373 and a force of 1,264 sworn officers, or 2.24 officers per thousand residents. In 2010, Seattle had 617,334 residents and 1,338 officers, or 2.16 officers per thousand residents. "The total number of patrol officers ... declined steadily for the first half of the decade and did not recover to 2000 levels until 2007. Today, there are just 30 more patrol officers than in the year 2000," the report concludes.
In a letter to McGinn in April, DSA board chair Jane Nelson said the group was "deeply troubled that hiring 20 additional officers through the 2010 budget has not occurred. While we appreciate your support for more foot patrols Downtown ... this effort did not result in a net increase of new officers in the Downtown neighborhood. Rather, the effort simply moved officers from patrolling on bikes to patrolling on foot."
After a press briefing today, McGinn handed PubliCola his own chart showing that, in terms of raw numbers, the number of officers on the police force has increased (something the DSA didn't dispute in its report). He also noted that serious crimes have gone down significantly, from 126 in 1990 to 80 in 2000 to 63 in 2000. (I couldn't resist teasing McGinn about his chart, pointing out that its "Y" axis started at 1,140 and went to 1,300, making it appear as though the number of officers had tripled. He laughed and told me it was a common way of portraying information.)
