UPDATE 10:50 AM: Mayor Bruce Harrell was set to make a “Major Announcement on Future of Public Safety in Seattle” Wednesday morning with details of a new contract agreement with the Seattle Police Officers Guild.
Publicola reported details of the pact Tuesday covering 2024 to 2027 including continued pay raises for officers. The new contract will be applied retroactively for 2024 and 2025 salaries.
In Wednesday’s announcement, below. Harrell touted the tentative agreement’s progress on growing the city’s Community Assisted Response & Engagement department and adding more crisis responders in the city.
Under the deal with SPOG, the mayor says the agreement “expands the types of incidents CCRs can be dispatched to, and authorizes CCRs to be solo dispatched to low-acuity 9-1-1 calls.”
Today, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced a tentative collective bargaining agreement (CBA) reached with rank-and-file Seattle police officers, allowing for the expansion and direct dispatch of CARE crisis responders, improving accountability with civilian investigators, and streamlining of the disciplinary process. The contract covers salaries and working conditions for 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027.
“This groundbreaking agreement with rank-and-file officers represents a pivotal moment in our efforts to reimagine the public safety paradigm – unlocking the full potential of the CARE Department model by allowing responders to directly dispatch to thousands of emergency calls while removing staffing limitations. We’re also strengthening police accountability by allowing civilian investigators to work on cases involving potential termination and streamlining disciplinary processes to address misconduct swiftly and appropriately,” said Mayor Harrell. “This contract supports our officers work to address crime and delivers on our promise to create a comprehensive, diversified public safety system that protects every neighborhood in Seattle.”
Key elements of the agreement:
- CARE – Removes limitations on CARE Community Crisis Responder (CCR) staffing, which was previously capped at 24, expands the types of incidents CCRs can be dispatched to, and authorizes CCRs to be solo dispatched to low-acuity 9-1-1 calls.
- Discipline Timeline Calculation – Aligns contract language for how disciplinary process timelines are calculated and tracked with the 2017 Accountability Ordinance, addressing a key priority for accountability entities, the federal monitor, and U.S. District Court Judge James Robart.
- Investigation Improvements – Establishes a process within SPD to ensure supervisors are responsible for and able to address minor performance and misconduct issues in a timely and effective manner. Empowers the Office of Police Accountability to assign civilian investigators as co-lead investigators on cases involving potential termination.
- Staffing and Recruiting – Updates wages and benefits to ensure Seattle remains competitive in hiring new officers among West Coast states, an area of the country where 78% of SPD applicants come from. Builds on positive recruitment trends and incentivizes bachelor’s and associate degrees and language proficiency. Increases civilianization within SPD’s backgrounding and recruiting unit.
The tentative agreement comes as Harrell faces a major reelection challenge after a poor showing in the primary against challenger Katie Wilson. Wilson has championed growing police alternatives like CARE. For SPOG, the agreement will deliver significant wage increases while mostly holding the line on previously agreed to accountability measures even as public sentiment about the union has soured.
$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month — or choose your level of support 🖤
