By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Seattle’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Department will expand beyond its pilot phase and receive new authority to dispatch crisis responders directly to certain 9-1-1 calls under a newly negotiated contract between Mayor Bruce Harrell and the Seattle Police Department. The agreement, announced last week, redefines how Seattle approaches public safety and marks a pivotal step in integrating unarmed crisis response into the city’s emergency system.
The new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), reached with rank-and-file officers in the Seattle Police Officers Guild, eliminates previous staffing caps for CARE Community Crisis Responders (CCRs) and authorizes solo dispatch to low-acuity 9-1-1 calls. CARE operates as the city’s third public safety branch, alongside the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and Seattle Fire Department.
“This groundbreaking agreement with rank-and-file officers represents a pivotal moment in our efforts to reimagine the public safety paradigm,” saidHarrell. “Unlocking the full potential of the CARE Department model by allowing responders to directly dispatch to thousands of emergency calls while removing staffing limitations.”
CARE oversees both the 9-1-1 Communications Center and the CCR Team. The Communications Center screens all incoming emergency calls, manages dispatching for SPD and CARE teams, and handles non-emergency calls across the city.
According to officials, the new contract aligns with the city’s efforts to divert nonviolent calls from police officers, ensuring appropriate responses to behavioral health and social service needs. CARE responders will now be able to address a wider range of situations, including behavioral health crises, welfare checks, and calls requiring support such as shelter, food, and transportation.
“This contract validates the years-long collaboration between City Council and Mayor Harrell’s administration and enables us to advance our promise of meaningful police reform to the people of Seattle,” said Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson. “Solo dispatch of CARE responders to 9-1-1 calls for people in crisis is the key to unlocking CARE’s potential.”
A centerpiece of the new agreement is a framework of reforms and enhancements to police accountability, officer recruitment, and internal oversight. The agreement includes the following four key elements:
• CARE – Removes limitations on CARE Community Crisis Responder (CCR) staffing, which was previously capped at 24, expands the types of incidents CCRs can be dispatched to, and authorizes CCRs to be solo dispatched to low-acuity 9-1-1 calls.
• Discipline Timeline Calculation – Aligns contract language for how disciplinary process timelines are calculated and tracked with the 2017 Accountability Ordinance, addressing a key priority for accountability entities, the federal monitor, and U.S. District Court Judge James Robart.
• Investigation Improvements – Establishes a process within SPD to ensure supervisors are responsible for and able to address minor performance and misconduct issues in a timely and effective manner. Empowers the Office of Police Accountability to assign civilian investigators as co-lead investigators on cases involving potential termination.
• Staffing and Recruiting – Updates wages and benefits to ensure Seattle remains competitive in hiring new officers among West Coast states, an area of the country where 78% of SPD applicants come from. Builds on positive recruitment trends and incentivizes bachelor’s and associate degrees and language proficiency. Increases civilianization within SPD’s backgrounding and recruiting unit.
“We’re also strengthening police accountability by allowing civilian investigators to work on cases involving potential termination and streamlining disciplinary processes to address misconduct swiftly and appropriately,” said Harrell. “This contract supports our officers’ work to address crime and delivers on our promise to create a comprehensive, diversified public safety system that protects every neighborhood in Seattle.”
CARE Chief Amy Barden called the expansion the most significant milestone since the department launched two years ago.
“Going forward, we will finally be able to predictably and consistently send the best first response to a 9-1-1 call—something our community has demanded and deserves,” said Barden.
“Law enforcement officers can now be significantly freed up to respond to high-priority police calls,” Barden added. “The CARE Department represents a movement of both pragmatism and compassion. Works at the intersection of behavioral health and criminal justice and recognize that when both systems are adequately equipped and designed to rehabilitate and redirect individual lives, our city will be transformed.”
The contract also introduces education and language premiums for officers, set to begin in January 2026. Officers will receive an additional 1.5% for relevant associate degrees, 4% for bachelor’s degrees, and 1.5% for bilingual language skills. These provisions complement the 2017 Accountability Ordinance, which mandated hiring preferences for multilingual and highly educated candidates.
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said the agreement strengthens the department’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers.
“This agreement reflects our shared commitment to the community and ensures that the brave men and women of our police department can continue to serve with pride and dedication,” said Barnes. “This agreement also bolsters the department’s reputation as a competitive employer, which can empower us to build on this year’s positive recruitment efforts.”
Pay increases will also take effect for officers, including a retroactive 6% raise for 2024, followed by 4.1% in 2025. Wages will rise again by 2.7% in 2026 and between 3% and 4% in 2027, depending on inflation.
Discipline reform remains a sticking point in the negotiations. While the city proposed changes to the appeal process for officer discipline, an impasse was declared. The issue will now move to a statutory arbitration process to determine whether the city’s proposals will be included in the final contract.
“The Seattle Office of Police Accountability (OPA) finds the Tentative Agreement with the City of Seattle and the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild a significant progress in achieving our mission and values,” said Bonnie Glenn, interim director of OPA. “This TA includes meaningful improvements for OPA’s operations and investigations, as well as the accountability system.”
“During its pilot phase, we have seen the promise of this new and innovative model of alternative unarmed response, and we can now proudly move CARE into its next phase as the largest city in the country advancing this model,” said Harrell. “Creating CARE in the first place—and now expanding it—has required difficult labor negotiations, but we have been unwavering in our focus to unlock the full potential of the CARE crisis response teams.”
“Put simply, this new agreement means more people experiencing behavioral health crises will receive the help they need from a trained CARE Crisis Responder, dispatched directly by 9-1-1. This will lead to healthier people, safer streets, and a better city.”
