KENT, Wash. — A rise in crime and falling staffing levels are trends that have plagued police departments across Washington state.
Washington’s number of officers to residents is below the national average, but some departments have taken major steps to solve the problem.
The City of Kent now has up to 167 sworn Kent Police Department (KPD) officers, which fills all the department’s vacancies.
Chief Rafael Padilla said they hired a record 38 officers in 2022.
However, just one year prior the department saw a mass exodus. Padilla said most left for a law enforcement job somewhere else, others left the field altogether and the rest retired.
"You had officers who felt like they couldn't deliver the service and protection they wanted to under the law here," Padilla said.
Padilla said that’s when they had to change their approach altogether. He said the key was investing in recruiting.
Even though the department was short-staffed, he took some off patrol to help with recruiting, part of which included going to every college in the area.
KPD also developed and grew their social media profiles to attract more people. Padilla said they were one of the first to offer incentive bonuses and allowed better assignments for new hires transferring from other departments.
At the end of the day, it also took money.
"We became the highest-paid department in the state overnight. That's putting your money where your mouth is," Padilla said.
In late 2021, Kent's City Council approved a 16 percent pay increase that kicked in last year. Officers with at least five years on the job jumped to salaries of more than $105,000.
That’s a luxury not all departments in the state can tap into. That's why Padilla and other law enforcement leaders believe state lawmakers should step in with some level of funding.
“It’s always been left at the local level and some cities can't afford that," Padilla said.
Padilla believes on-time or early retirements and short-term stays at departments, which have become increasingly common, are here to stay.
"We're going to start looking at things like hiring ahead and things that are common in the private sector but not in government,” Padilla said. “We're going to have to start thinking more like the private sector."
Padilla told KING 5 over the last two years, low staffing contributed to record years of crime, including a rise in violent crime.
"You've got to have the officers out there that aren't running from call to call to call if you want to prevent crime. Preventative community-based patrols are going to be the game changer, but those take people. We need people," Padilla said.
Even though Kent has filled all of its vacancies, the chief said they still need more officers.
He said in five years he’d like to have close to 200 sworn officers, but believes at the current rate they can only add a few every year.
Most of the new hires are in their 20s, according to Padilla.