Cash Bonuses for New Hires and Laterals Fail to Bolster Seattle PD Ranks

Seattle's cash bonuses—$7,500 for new recruits and up to $30,000 for laterals—have yet to reverse the trend of the police department losing officers.

Numbers shared with a city council committee last week show the Seattle Police Department's total number of police officers has declined since the start of the year, for a net loss of six officers, Axios reports.

Last year, the city's number of deployable officers dipped to about 950, the lowest staffing level in more than three decades, according to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell's office. Harrell set a goal of increasing police staffing by 500 officers over five years.

The city has launched a new video ad campaign to try to attract more police officer applicants, and plans to engage in more targeted marketing in the coming months.