Newsweek has posted a story that states Seattle cops are not leaving the city due to ‘defund the police’ but to rising housing costs. Some in the police leadership want to take action. The City Council used a recent committee meeting to discussed releasing as much as $4.5 million of hiring bonuses for potential new Seattle Police Department officers.
Officers in the Seattle Metropolitan Area make roughly $66,000 a year on average according to salary-dot-com. Police leaders believe that wage in a place like Seattle makes it hard to live within city limits. City Council members and some police representatives have responded to this officer shortage with solutions like relocation vouchers, housing subsidies, and loan assistance programs.
The Newsweek article laid out information concerning the cost of living. For instance, the average price for a one-bedroom apartment has risen to $2,190 in Seattle, while the median price of a single-family home within the city has skyrocketed to $1,127,500. Both of these figures, the article stated, represent an increase of more than 18% increase from the previous year. The article quoted Redfin for this data.
It is being alleged that the SPD is at its lowest staffing level since the 1970s. In the first quarter of this year, the SPD had set out to hire 40 new officers; it only found 13. At the same time, 24 officers were expected to retire, but 43 have already submitted their resignations. It is being reported the Seattle Police department has lost 383 in-service officers since January 2020.
There is constant talk on how to handle the points Newsweek discuss ed. SPD, for instance, has lowered the number of new officers it expects to hire this year from 125 to 98. Some incoming recruits are choosing to work in nearby, more affordable jurisdictions. Some may then feel that the high cost of living in Seattle may end up being the cause of higher crime rates.
