Lawlessness In Seattle

Law Enforcement Today is reporting that "Seattle is joining the growing list of left-wing cities that have decided to turn to illegal aliens to fill the ever-increasing void in the ranks of their police department, following cities such as Los Angeles. This is due to severe understaffing that has gutted many large city departments in primarily blue cities."

Experts say the personnel shortage is getting worse, not better, due to leftist policies in many of our cities.

The fox is guarding the hen house.

Have we lost our minds?

Be informed, not misled.

The next time you hear a Christian say they believe Christians should not be involved in politics, tell them why they're wrong.

This is one of myriad reasons. 

Seattle Police Dept. is Desperate for officers.

Law Enforcement Today reached out to a member of the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild, who said that the anti-police mindset of the city administration is leading to officers leaving the department in droves. 

Just how strong is the anti-police mindset in Seattle, and what are the actual results?

Jason Rantz, a Seattle radio talk show host who has done his homework, found back in April that Seattle Police Department (SPD) staffing is much worse than what local leaders have admitted to the public. This puts a renewed spotlight on a crime crisis the city is not able to fully tackle. The department hasn’t seen such low levels of staff since at least 1957.

He found that the department had only 424 police officers working patrol as of December 31, 2023, the date the most recent data was collected. The SPD confirmed the staffing data in an email.

According to a Human Resources document obtained by Rantz, at least 66 of the 424 officers are currently eligible for retirement, and 84 are over 50. Patrol is rounded out with 11 police student officers, 22 lieutenants, and 76 sergeants.

It gets worse.

Rantz says, "Just because officers are listed as 'patrol,' that doesn’t mean they’re actually responding to 911 calls or proactively policing. For example, there are four assigned to communications administration. And, as of March 31, an additional 81 officers were listed on the HR unavailable list, which covers officers who are out for extended periods. Officers only appear on the list after being absent for a minimum of 14 days."

No matter how you analyze the data, total staffing is also at emergency levels, and hiring is nowhere near keeping up with separations.

He says, "The city is experiencing crisis-level staffing it hasn’t seen in decades."

At only 913 deployable officers, the SPD says staffing is at the lowest level since 2009. It’s actually much worse. The Jason Rantz Show obtained an SPD staffing document from 1958 showing authorized personnel on Dec. 31, 1957. It was 925.

For context, pre-COVID-19, the staffing goal was considered to be roughly 1,500-1,600. It’s since been revised down to approximately 1,400.

The current Seattle police staffing numbers reflect data from between October 2023, when a public disclosure request was first submitted, and December 31, 2023, when the SPD provided updated staffing data to the city council. However, according to multiple sources, the March 2024 staffing is about the same as December 2023.

Patrol officers barely keep up with 911 calls. Often, precincts are at or below staffing minimums. At times, officers from other precincts must provide supplemental patrol to other parts of the city.

The solution?

Law Enforcement Today says, "Now, faced with what can only be called an emergency due to low staffing, the city is taking advantage of Senate Bill 6157, signed into law by far-left Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, which will allow DACA recipients or so-called 'dreamers' to apply to become police officers."

One issue facing DACA recipients becoming police officers is that they are in the country illegally, which means that they are not generally permitted to carry a firearm. However, Biden’s ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) has ruled that "It is ATF’s position that DACA recipients can possess duty firearms and possess ammunition as part of their official law enforcement officer duties,” according to the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). 

PERF is clearly in the tank for Democrats and the Biden administration. The blog piece notes that the military allows people who are non-citizens but “legal permanent residents” to serve in the military, noting “they get advanced training, a weapon, and are sent to defend this country,” but rues the fact that they are not allowed to become police officers. The writer suggests an “accelerated path to citizenship” for those who choose to become police officers. 

The writer for Law Enforcement Today goes on to call it a “win-win.” Call us crazy, but allowing people who entered the country illegally, also known as “criminals” to serve as police officers sends a mixed message. If someone is that inclined to “serve their community,” he says, "let them enter the US like my parents and millions of others did…legally."

Seattle is a shining example of where so-called "progressivism" takes a city, a state, or a country.

Takeaway

CS Lewis said this about so-called progressivism: 

“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. There is nothing progressive about being pig-headed and refusing to admit a mistake. And I think if you look at the present state of the world it's pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistakes. We're on the wrong road. And if that is so we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on.”

This November our country will have an opportunity to "turn back" to our founding principles. These principles served us all well until the Left infiltrated our leadership with failed cultural Marxism and the fantasies of the Leftist fanatics.

It's time to go back because that's the quickest way on.

Choose leadership who will "admit a mistake" and embrace the God who gave us our liberties and freedoms in the first place.

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful. Be Active.