SPD to reassign department resources, add 100 officers to 911 response

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz announced Wednesday that the Seattle Police Department is beginning the process of reassigning department resources, including adding more than 100 officers and supervisors to the 911 response team.

SPD officers line 5th Avenue to honor Chief Best on her last day with department

Diaz said this move will help ensure that the SPD has personnel available to respond to emergency calls, solve problems, and work directly with the community to provide public safety.

The core mission of the SPD, Diaz said, is preventing and responding to criminal behavior, which is done in large part by patrol officers and the 911 response team.

“When an emergency is happening, people call 911, and they expect an emergency responder to get there fast,” he said.

The SPD previously created specialty units at the cost of the 911 response, and as a result of that, Diaz says there are currently the fewest officers in 911 in recent memory. Shifting officers to 911 will help increase the police presence and capacity, which is commonly one of the top concerns expressed by members of the public in surveys, Diaz explained.

“There is more to this than having more cars on the street and getting to emergency calls faster,” Diaz said, emphasizing that his primary goal as chief is to reinvent what community engagement looks like.

Going from 911 call to 911 call, as many officers have had to do, said both Diaz and Durkan, makes it difficult for officers to engage with the community. But, it’s patrol work and engagement, Diaz says, that builds trust, legitimacy, and lasting public safety.

The redistribution will ensure that the SPD is putting its resources where it is most needed, Diaz said, which right now is in patrol.

The shift will also help reduce the overtime budget of the SPD as more officers will be working shorter shifts. Overtime has been raised as an issue during the budget cuts proposed by protesters and the Seattle City Council alike. Diaz says with the move, the SPD will not have to rely on overtime funded emphasis patrols.

“I, and the entire SPD command staff, remain committed to community driven process for determining the future roles and responsibilities of patrol and other parts of this department,” Diaz said.

Diaz’ announcement, Durkan said, better aligns the culture of the SPD and focus on community engagement.

“These changes also lay the groundwork for the future,” Durkan added.

While there is still a need for police in Seattle, Durkan says, there also needs to be a committed focus on investments in the community to undo “centuries of systemic racism.”

Durkan said she’s focused on four points: investing in Black, indigenous communities; investing in young people and education; promoting accountability and reform; and rethinking and reimagining policing, including a top to bottom review of the culture and budget of SPD.

“It’s clear that there’s a need for police in our city,” Durkan said. “… We rely on them to provide community safety, but we also want to make sure that police are dealing with those issues that the police should be dealing with.”

The next generation of Seattle policing, Durkan says, needs to serve the city in the way they need to be served, and optimize the role of police officers.

While every call for help doesn’t necessarily need an armed police officer, Durkan said, every call for help does need a response from someone who is trained and available to give resources to those in need.

“I am really grateful to the community in Seattle who continue to remind us that policing cannot be the only response to gun violence,” she said.

Mayor Durkan will be presenting a proposed 2021 budget later this month.

Chief Diaz issued a message to the members of the SPD on Tuesday, which can be read in full here.