‘One of the greatest honors:’ Incoming chief shares vision for Seattle Police Department
Jan 30, 2025, 6:34 PM | Updated: Jan 31, 2025, 3:02 pm
If there is any doubt about how happy Shon Barnes is to be Seattle’s new police chief, the doubt ends now.
“This is one of the greatest honors of my career,” Seattle Police Department (SPD) Chief Shon Barnes told KIRO Newsradio.
Barnes spent Thursday moving into his new office at SPD-HQ. But his preparation to hit the ground running started shortly after his hiring was announced.
Previous coverage: Mayor nominates Shon Barnes as the next Seattle Police Department Chief
The first order of business will be to take a long look inside the department.
“Most police departments have multiple issues that establish their culture and so making sure we can highlight things we do well, things we don’t do well, making sure we can fix those,” Barnes said. “In policing, we’ve seen crime go down and go back up and go down and go back up. What is it that we’re missing? And the answer is sustainability. Things that really work should continue to work.”
By any measure, SPD is understaffed. That makes keeping the community safe more difficult for the department and for officers individually. Fixing the staffing issue, Barnes said, will boost morale.
“Retention, which is related to morale, making sure we can keep the officers we have,” he said. “Understanding what recruitment looks like and if there are any changes we can make, I want to make those. I want to get to work on a crime plan and then, of course, we have to make sure we are engaging the community and that we’re practicing what I call partnership policing.”
Past coverage on Seattle Police Department’s new chief
However, Barnes’ hiring has not been without controversy. There were rumors he failed his polygraph, something that would normally disqualify a candidate, but Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said there were no problems. He expressed confidence and brought Barnes to Seattle.
Meanwhile, Barnes said his career speaks for itself.
“The polygraph is not a pass or fail,” he explained. “I was thoroughly vetted. There were no issues with my background. I received a letter saying there was nothing in my background that would prevent me from being a police officer, and if it was, you know, they would have said it. In addition to that, I have a security clearance from the FBI Field Office in Milwaukee.”
Barnes said the transition of power between himself and outgoing SPD Interim Chief Sue Rahr has been smooth and very helpful.
“We’ve had an opportunity to spend some time together,” he shared. “She left me a very nice note that I got last night and she’s committed herself to being available to me at any time I need.”
Earlier this week, Rahr spoke at length to KIRO Newsradio about a series of topics, including why she took the job, what she feels she has accomplished while holding the position and what may be next for her.
To read a transcript of the exchange, visit this link.
James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on X, or email him here.
