Seattle to get 10 new cops under federal grant
The Seattle Police Department will hire 10 new police officers with a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. Interim Police Chief Jim Pugel said the officers will be deployed into each of the city’s five precincts as part of SPD’s Community Police Team program.
Pugel said the new hires will patrol known crime “hot spots” and focus on long-term and chronic problems specific to individual neighborhoods.
Mayor Mike McGinn last week announced funding for 15 new officers in his proposed 2014 budget. Combined with 27 new officers authorized in 2013, the total number of new officers authorized since the end of 2012 is 52.
The U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, Jenny Durkan, said Seattle is one of five jurisdictions in the state to get the awards and it received the largest. The others are Auburn, Pierce County, Port Angeles and Sequim. The grants were made under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which supports neighborhood-policing plans.
“Every additional cop on the streets helps community safety. These grants focus on needs identified by communities,” Durkan said.
Comments | More in General news | Topics: Mayor Mike McGinn, Seattle Police Department, U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan
