CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, October 3, 2022 Conference Room 440 - Shoreline City Hall
5:45 p.m. 17500 Midvale Avenue North
PRESENT: Mayor Scully, Deputy Mayor Robertson, and Councilmembers McConnell, Mork, Roberts, and Pobee
ABSENT: None
STAFF: City Manager Debbie Tarry
Assistant City Manager John Norris
Captain Ryan Abbott, King County Sherriff’s Office
GUESTS: King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall
King County Undersheriff Jesse Anderson
At 5:46 p.m., the special meeting was called to order by Mayor Scully. All Councilmembers were present except for Councilmember McConnell who joined the meeting at 5:50 p.m. and Councilmember Pobee who joined the meeting at 5:52 p.m.
Mayor Scully welcomed the guests from the King County Sheriff’s Office and stated that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss concerns with Police staffing in Shoreline. King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall stated that staffing is an issue with police agencies across the country. The King County Sheriff’s Office currently has 101 vacancies in commissioned positions out of a total of 781 and provides service to 12 contract cities. Due to staffing vacancies, officers are being redeployed to various assignments and working overtime to fulfill service needs throughout the County. Cities are credited for vacancies in their contract. For the City of Shoreline, there are 11 vacancies out of 50 positions.
Sheriff Cole-Tindall explained several methods that the Sheriff’s Office is using to boost recruitment and retention. A full-time recruiter was hired to support recruitment efforts and increase diversity. They led two out-of-state recruiting trips where a number of applications were received. currently there is a $15,000 signing bonus for lateral officers, $7,500 for new recruits, and $5,000 for referrals that result in a hire. The Sheriff’s Office works to show staff that they are valued and respected through cultural changes within the agency. The agency publishes a monthly video and weekly newsletter to ensure effective communication. This year, 54 people were hired to the agency.
A question was asked about resource allocation among the contract cities. Undersheriff Jesse Anderson responded that the Sheriff’s Office looks at vacancies in their contracts as well as performance indicators to determine distribution. A fair share model is also used to ensure needs are filled equitably. Sheriff Cole-Tindall pointed out that officers can request specific assignments after a probation. A councilmember asked about deployment of specialty positions and Captain Ryan Abbott explained that they are getting by with minimal resources because there are not many full-time specialty positions to move around. In Shoreline, police respond to any service calls and have maintained good response times. Staffing support is drawn from unincorporated areas to provide for contract cities.
Mayor Scully commented that Shoreline is competing with other cities to fill vacancies. He suggested that the City could establish its own police department to potentially avoid the staffing issue. Sheriff Cole-Tindall said there are pros and cons to forming your own police force, with the largest issue being the increased cost of doing so. The City would also take on the liability police operations, which could have a significant financial impact. The Sheriff also responded that vacancy issues are impacting agencies nationwide and there is no guarantee the City could fill all vacancies if the City started its own force. The Sheriff’s Office aims to fill their vacancies by 2025.
A question was asked about morale issues with being a police officer. Sheiff Cole-Tindall highlighted the department’s restrictive pursuit policy for the safety of officers and the public. She noted that young people do not view the work of law enforcement as respectable, but she also pointed out that law enforcement is not like it used to be. Sheriff Cole-Tindall said new programs to provide social services such as Rapid Awareness, De-escalation and Referral (RADAR) could help appeal to young people. Captain Abbott also commented that the Sheriff’s Office continues to evolve, and that most community members support their efforts.
A councilmember asked about improvements coming to the department and Sheriff Cole-Tindall said body cameras will be deployed in the first quarter of 2023. She said that while deputies are supportive of this change, there will be challenges with an operational policy shift such as this, including the processing of increased public disclosure requests for body camera footage. Nine additional Sheriff’s Office staff are in the process of being hired to manage these additional public disclosure requests. The body cameras will be implemented one precinct at a time and should be completed no later than 2025.
At 6:40 p.m., Mayor Scully declared the meeting adjourned.
/s/ Kendyl Hardy, Deputy City Clerk