11:06 AM: As previewed last night, interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz and Mayor Jenny Durkan are briefing reporters on plans to move 100 SPD staff into patrol operations. You can watch live above (we’ll substitute the archived video later); we’ll also add notes below, as it goes.
This will “enable us to respond to 911 calls … on a more-rapid basis,” says the mayor. She also says this is a move toward saving some money on overtime, with “more, shorter shifts” being added. She also says this “lays the groundwork for future changes” in SPD. But ‘we know we still need police,” she declares, saying they’ll evaluate what 911 calls require “traditional armed police response” and which don’t.
11:15 AM: Chief Diaz takes the microphone. He says the department currently has the lowest number of officers in patrol operations “in recent memory.” The moves will address a concern consistently voiced by community members, he says – the lack of police presence in neighborhoods. He hopes this also will enable officers to get out of their cars and make connections with residents, delivering a “neighborhood-based style of policing.” This also means less reliance on “emphasis patrols” to address ongoing problems.
11:20 AM: No further specifics, so it’s now on to Q&A. First one: How do they anticipate the council (which recently voted to cut 100 officers) reacting? “Positively,” says the mayor. How will the moves affect ongoing detective work? 40 percent of the moves will come from units already doing similar work – community police teams, traffic enforcement, etc., Diaz says. Will it encourage more attrition if those who haven’t been on the street for years are asked to move back? Diaz says it will actually affect more younger, newer officers than veterans. In response to another question, he mentions one of the new shifts will be a 4-day 3 pm-1 am shift, covering the time when call levels are at the highest.
The timeline, the chief says in response to another question, is “within the next few weeks” – as soon as the week of September 16th.
11:44 AM: The briefing is over. We are following up to ask for more specifics on the reassignments, including how individual precincts will be affected.
2:13 PM: The archived video is now available above. Meantime, SPD says it can’t comment yet on details of the reassignments because it’s “in the process of making notifications to employees in detective and other units about redeployments to enhance our 911 response. Once employee notifications have been completed in the coming days, the department will provide further information about the units impacted by personnel redeployments.”
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