‘Less officers are leaving, more officers are coming in’: SPD on track to reach 1,250 officers by end of 2026

As the city prepares itself to host six 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, Seattle Police Department (SPD) Chief Shon Barnes revealed that the department is retaining its staff better than it has in years.

“Where are you right now in the Seattle Police Department as far as stats and numbers of police officers?” KIRO host Gee Scott asked.

“We have 1,120 now on staff. We have 985 officers who are deployable, so that difference is officers who are either in some form of training or on sick leave in the academy, so once those officers are cleared, we’ll add them to that number, and there’ll be 1,120,” Barnes said. “We’ve hired 78 officers just this year alone, and the number of officers who are leaving is consistent with what we saw last year. So last year we saw a record low number of officers leaving at 34, and that’s where we are this year, a little bit up with 38 officers who have separated from the department. So we’re seeing fewer officers leaving over time, and more officers are coming in.”

When the SPD lost 38 officers in 2024, the department suffered its lowest staffing levels since 1958, when it had only 848 total deployable officers. On January 1, 1958, according to a staffing document obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” on Seattle Red 770 AM, there were 918 deployable Seattle police staff.

“My No. 1 priority is making sure that the new boots on the ground go to the precincts,” Barnes said. “Patrol is the backbone of policing. I’m making sure that when officers get out of field training, they are appropriately assigned to the precincts. And then we ask the captains, ‘What do you need from us to give the type of community service that people want?'”

“Do you have the budget that you need to hire and retain these officers?” Gee asked.

“Yes. We are authorized to end this year with 1,250 [officers], the number that was budgeted for us, and we intend to do that,” Barnes answered. “And then, of course, next year, obviously, we’ll see what our budget instructions are. The idea is to get back to 1,400 officers by the end of 2029. I think that’s where we were prior to the really mass exodus of officers leaving in 2020. I think that’s what the community wants, and that it deserves, so we’ll be having those conversations.”

Seattle mayor aligns with SPD chief, turns cameras on

Last week, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson decided to activate the highly debated cameras in the Stadium District during the World Cup after the SPD and FBI identified “general, but credible threats to safety and security during the games” following intelligence gathering.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deemed the World Cup a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) 2 — a significant event with national and/or international importance that may require some level of federal interagency support.

“What does it mean for you and your department to have the support of the city council, the mayor, all of those things?” Gee asked.

“It means a lot. It’s one of the No. 1 questions I get from officers internally who do the work, as well as from community members,” Barnes said. “They ask me all the time, ‘How’s my relationship with the mayor?’ ‘How’s my relationship with the city council?’ And I always tell them that it’s good and ever-evolving.

“No relationship is perfect. I’m certainly not perfect,” Barnes added. “There are times when I know I’m going to make mistakes, but as long as my integrity is not impeached, I think we’re in a good place, so we’re going to continue to do that. I thank the mayor for her support, and I thank the city council for their support.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.