‘We’re going in the wrong direction’: Washington remains last in nation in per capita police staffing
Feb 19, 2026, 6:59 PM
Police officers arrest a person as people march on the night of an election in Seattle. (Photo: Ted S. Warren, AP)
(Photo: Ted S. Warren, AP)
For the past fifteen years, the state of Washington has ranked 51st in the country, behind every other state and the District of Columbia, in the number of law officers per capita — and the numbers are getting worse.
“We were hoping to see some improvements in our per-capita staffing, which, of course, has been last in the nation for fifteen straight years, but, unfortunately, the numbers we got now for 2025 are actually showing another decline. We’re going in the wrong direction,” Steve Strachan, the executive director for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), told KIRO Newsradio.
Population growth outpaces officer hiring
Washington had a net increase of 68 officers, statewide, from 2024 to 2025. But that increase was offset by an increase in population of about 79,400 people, for a net decrease in the per-capita rate of commissioned officers per 1,000 people, to just 1.37, according to WASPC.
“At the end of the day, we’re just seeing more people leaving and retiring than we are seeing coming in,” Strachan said. “Too few officers have negative effects on justice for victims, response and investigation of crimes, wellness for officers, and reduce opportunities for de-escalation.”
Not one officer hired from state program
Strachan said every understaffed department must work harder to recruit and maintain officers who are right for the job, and he says the legislature must do its part.
“Last year, there was a bill to provide direct grants and additional taxing authority to communities. That bill was written in a way that had a lot of hurdles and a lot of bureaucracy built-in and we’re now in February 2026, and there hasn’t been one officer hired from that program,” Strachan explained. “There has actually not been one dollar awarded from that program or any taxing authority. So, we want to continue to work through that. That may make a difference. It’s just taking a very long time to get there. We also need to continue to attract and bring in the right people to do this important job for communities around our state.”
Below is a chart showing the rate of officers in Washington per 1,000 people from 2011 to 2025.
| WA only | Rate per 1,000 | Population | Officers |
| 2011 | 1.51 | 6,815,859 | 10,269 |
| 2012 | 1.47 | 6,880,100 | 10,128 |
| 2013 | 1.47 | 6,954,564 | 10,231 |
| 2014 | 1.47 | 7,037,348 | 10,311 |
| 2015 | 1.45 | 7,163,761 | 10,386 |
| 2016 | 1.45 | 7,258,544 | 10,507 |
| 2017 | 1.45 | 7,377,379 | 10,716 |
| 2018 | 1.44 | 7,507,712 | 10,820 |
| 2019 | 1.45 | 7,588,204 | 11,031 |
| 2020 | 1.43 | 7,663,848 | 10,973 |
| 2021 | 1.35 | 7,705,506 | 10,431 |
| 2022 | 1.34 | 7,755,215 | 10,393 |
| 2023 | 1.35 | 7,777,364 | 10,482 |
| 2024 | 1.38 | 8,035,515 | 11,070 |
| 2025 | 1.37 | 8,114,915 | 11,138 |
The full Crime in Washington report for 2025 will be published this summer.
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