Downsize SPD? Seattle debates new Neighborhood Security and Communications Middle to maneuver 911 and parking enforcement operations out of Seattle Police

A Seattle city council committee will seek a step on Tuesday to redeem steps taken last year to shift operations out of the police department after mass protests in the city called for a major de-funding of law enforcement agencies.

The city’s budget for 2021 resulted in a cut of about a fifth in annual spending of more than $ 400 million on police spending in Seattle, as well as changes to reduce the size and power of the department by adding 911 and traffic surveillance operations outside of the city Seattle Police Department moved and more money was spent on social, community, and BIPOC services and programs.

These 911 and parking attendant positions would officially be included in the new Community Safety and Communications Center (CSCC) under a bill presented Tuesday morning to the council’s public safety and human services committee. A total of about 260 positions would leave the SPD – 140 from the 911 side and 120 from the parking surveillance side.

The budget for 2021, approved in November, originally stipulated that the CSCC would take over these functions from June 1.

The new center is seen as central to Seattle’s broader policing reorganization, a conversation largely sparked by protests following the murder of George Floyd and subsequent clashes with police.

While the Seattle Parking Enforcement Officers’ Guild (SPEOG) has been pushing to join the CSCC, Mayor Jenny Durkan and other city leaders have urged these workers to be directed to the city’s Department of Transportation instead.

“SDOT has experience managing large, front-line work units with significant fleet and communications needs and a complex workforce that works in multiple shifts,” wrote SDOT Director Sam Zimbabwe in a letter to the council in November prior to that Budget was approved. “We would be able to effectively tie the park attendance unit into the operations side of our house so that the necessary support for the unit could be provided.”

Durkan and Zimbabwe have both noted the previous collaboration between park attendants and SDOT’s curbside management team that would facilitate an easier transition out of the SPD.

SPEOG union president Nanette Toyoshima wrote in a letter to the council last year that park inspectors could take on some of the tasks normally performed by sworn police officers, such as responding to minor car accidents and enforcing red light violations if they do would be in the new CSCC according to PubliCola.

“The city would make significant savings in terms of hiring, the hiring process, training, locations and vehicles, and would attract an already trained and highly skilled workforce,” Toyoshima wrote to the city council in September.

The second piece the council will consider Tuesday is the long-awaited move to cut a few million dollars from the SPD budget to offset the department’s excessive spending on overtime after the protests. The council originally called for the $ 5.4 million cut and use that money for the participatory budgeting process for the future of police spending.

However, in late March, the council decided to cut that cut down to around $ 3 million amid concerns about any budget cuts that could hamper a department that lost a record 186 officials in 2020. Police chief Adrian Diaz said further cuts could result in even longer cuts to 911 response times.

This is an issue that the independent police authority observer, appointed as part of the SPD’s federal oversight, has also pointed out, according to Crosscut.

This tug-of-war between the SPD and the council, worth 5.4 million US dollars, began last year. The police department wanted money to cover overtime expenses during the protests, and the council agreed to spend the money, but said they could try to cut the same amount from the following year’s budget. The money the council wanted to cut this year would basically pay back those extra overtime dollars and would be backed by money that the SPD no longer spends given the wear and tear in the department, which means fewer salaries are to be paid .

Instead, the SPD said the council should channel these salary savings back into the department.

“Without additional resources or facilities, the city must prepare for other, more drastic impacts on the service, such as longer response times, lack of police presence at events in the city (legal and illegal events and demonstrations) and more cases of priority call handling.” Angela Socci, executive director for budget and finances of the SPD, wrote in a January memo to the council staff.

The council agreed to these demands and voted 3-2 in committee in March to reduce the cut from $ 5.4 million to just $ 3 million, despite some supporters clamoring for keeping the original. Councilors Tammy Morales and Kshama Sawant were the two votes against the surrender.

A month and a half later, the proposal is again before the same council committee.

Tuesday’s session, due to begin at 9:30 a.m., has 20 minutes for public comment.

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