Mayor’s Neighborhood Policing Plan: Putting more
officers where they’re needed, when they’re needed

"Our commitment to public safety means a police department second to none. The Neighborhood Policing Plan means more officers on the streets and more officers at critical times when they are most needed." -- Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels Links: Mayor Nickels’ Proposed 2009-2010 Budget Neighborhood Policing Plan - Acrobat pdf Neighborhood Policing Plan Executive Summary - Acrobat pdf News Releases: Nickels’ budget: Focus on compassion, public safety (9/29/08) Police Contract Includes Pay Raises, Accountability (6/30/08) City, Police Guild Reach Tentative Agreement on Four-Year Contract (4/24/08) Mayor Nickels announces major improvements for policing Seattle's neighborhoods (3/7/07)

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels believes public safety is the paramount duty of the city, and in 2007, he unveiled his Neighborhood Policing Plan to add 154 new patrol officers to Seattle's ranks by 2012. 

Nickels calls it the most significant improvement in more than 30 years to how the city polices its neighborhoods.

The Mayor's 2009-2010 budget continues to deliver on the five-year Neighborhood Policing Plan.  In 2009, 21 uniformed officers will be added to the police ranks, and another 21 in 2010. This puts Seattle on track to reach its target by 2012.

"Neighborhood policing is a faster, stronger and smarter approach to protecting our neighborhoods," Nickels said. "Under this plan, we will expand our patrol force to the tune of 154 officers over eight years. But it's not just about adding more officers; it's about putting police officers where they're needed, when they're needed. The result is faster and stronger responses, and smarter use of our resources."

  Neighborhood Policing Plan fixes three problems

The Neighborhood Policing Plan was developed to address these issues:

• The Seattle Police Department meets the commonly accepted response time goal for larger cities, averaging seven minutes for high-priority emergency calls.  However, response times are faster when the workload is low, and exceed seven minutes during the busiest times of the week when 9-1-1 call volume is high.
• There is an imbalance between where patrol officers are deployed and workload, which means officers are not always available when and where they are needed.
• Because of the need to respond to emergency 9-1-1 calls during peak workload periods, patrol officers do not have enough time to work on proactive and specific problem-solving activities.

  What the Neighborhood Policing Plan will do

The Neighborhood Policing Plan will improve public safety by:

• Adding 154 new patrol officers -- 49 have already been added since mid-2005 and another 105 will be added between 2008 and 2012.
• Revising work shifts for patrol officers to match the workload, making officers available at the times and on the days when they are most needed. Since 1997 police officers have worked nine-hour days with rotating schedules of four days on and two days off. The shift start and end times have been basically unchanged for more than 30 years. The city and the Seattle Police Officers Guild are currently discussing alternatives.
• Redrawing patrol "beats" throughout the city. The last time beats were redrawn was in the 1970s. The new plan will allow for more balanced, flexible and effective deployment of patrol officers, and will enhance officers' sense of ownership of the neighborhoods they serve.