A general authority Washington law enforcement agency is any agency, department, or division of a municipal corporation, political subdivision, or other unit of local government of Washington, and any agency, department, or division of state government, having as its primary function the detection and apprehension of persons committing infractions or violating the traffic or criminal laws in general.
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A general authority Washington peace officer is any fully compensated and elected, appointed, or employed officer of a general authority Washington law enforcement agency who is commissioned to enforce the criminal laws of the state of Washington generally.
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A tribal police officer is any person in the employ of one of the federally recognized sovereign tribal governments, whose traditional lands and territories lie within the borders of the state of Washington, to enforce the criminal laws of that government.
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A limited authority Washington law enforcement agency is any agency, political subdivision, or unit of local government of this state, and any agency, department, or division of state government having as one of its functions the apprehension or detection of persons committing infractions or violating the traffic or criminal laws relating to limited subject areas.
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A limited authority Washington peace officer is any fully compensated officer of a limited authority Washington law enforcement agency empowered by that agency to detect or apprehend violators of the laws in some or all of the limited subject areas for which the agency is responsible.
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According to the Criminal Justice Training Commission?(CJTC), there are currently 10,540 general authority Washington peace officers and certified tribal police officers employed throughout Washington, and 233 limited authority peace officers currently employed throughout the state.
The CJTC must develop and implement a law enforcement hiring grant program for the purpose of providing direct support to local and tribal law enforcement agencies in hiring law enforcement officers, peer counselors, and behavioral health personnel working in co-response. CJTC must establish policies for grant applications and publish the criteria for evaluating and selecting grant recipients on the CJTC website. For an applying law enforcement agency to qualify for a grant, the agency must maintain:
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CJTC must also create a grant application form which local and tribal law enforcement agencies must use to apply for grant funding. The commission may provide an advance on grant funding to law enforcement agencies that do not meet the requirements listed above, but who otherwise qualify for grant funding, for the purposes of the agency coming into compliance.
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Funding provided through the grant program may be used solely to provide up to 75 percent of the entry-level salaries and fringe benefits of full-time local or tribal law enforcement officers for a maximum of 36 months. Funding through the grant program may not exceed a maximum of $125,000 per law enforcement officer position. Any additional costs for salaries and benefits higher than entry level are the responsibility of the recipient agency. Grants may not be awarded for any local or tribal law enforcement position if the applicant is, or has been within the previous 12 calendar months, employed by a local or tribal law enforcement agency in Washington.
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Beginning July 31, 2026, and annually thereafter, CJTC must report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on the following:
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The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) must complete a report on law enforcement personnel employed as general authority Washington peace officers over time for each local law enforcement agency in the state. The report must include data points for each local law enforcement agency on July 1, 2020, July 1, 2021, July 1, 2022, July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025 on the agencies':
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The report is due to the Governor's office and the fiscal committees of the Legislature by January 1, 2026.
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$100 million, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, from the general fund to the CJTC for the purposes of implementing the law enforcement hiring grant program.
The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard.?PRO:?This is an attempt to reinforce law enforcement staffing. If we look at Seattle as an example, it roughly costs $250,000 to fully train a new officer. There is a need for smaller law enforcement agencies to backfill positions as officers retire or transfer to other agencies. While this is a good first step towards raising the number of law enforcement officers in this state, these agencies need ongoing long-term funding. Washington is last in the nation in the number of officers per?capita. With this bill we can move closer to our shared goal of a safer Washington. This will help defray the costs of hiring new officers and every dollar in this bill goes to hiring those new officers. The number law enforcement officers in Washington has not kept pace with its growing population. This bill is a great start, but cities need a reliable and sustained source of funding to ensure the number of officers continues to grow with Washington's population. The persistent shortage of officers in this state has created significant consequences for public safety including reduced capacity for crime prevention, delayed justice for victims, and diminished effectiveness of de-escalation efforts. While this is a great step forward, the bill should allow law enforcement agencies to allocate grant funds flexibly including using the funding to cover currently funded but vacant positions. Law enforcement agencies need more staffing to cover the public's calls for service without having to wait for hours. This is not the silver bullet to address public safety, but it is sorely needed. Washington has had the lowest per?capita rate of law enforcement officers for the last 14 years and has not seen such a low officer per?capita rate since 1980. To match the second lowest officer per?capita rate, Washington would need to hire an additional 1370 officers. Budget deficits make it difficult for cities to hire enough officers to keep up with growing populations.
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OTHER:?While new officers are needed, this does not address the core problem. Officers are allowed to do too much, and this is resulting in officers violating agency polices and violating the rights of citizens. Without addressing the issues that currently exist in policing hiring more officers will do nothing for Washingtonians. This money should be used to address those underlying issues.