Seattle police chief warns of 'staffing crisis,' fewer responses as city weighs $5.4M budget cut

Seattle’s police chief has warned city lawmakers this week of a potential "staffing crisis beyond mitigation" -- and officers having to say "no to requests for services" -- as they consider slashing $5.4 million from the department’s budget this year. 

"If, moving forward, the department is expected to meet ever-evolving demands, while confronting significantly reduced staffing – now indexed to matching reductions in available budget – SPD will have to say no to requests for services – something we already have had to do this year," Diaz said Tuesday.     Ari Hoffman discusses the impact of budget cuts on Seattle police. "The best way to stop the losses, and to drive hiring, is to stop the ad hoc cutting of the budget," he continued. "The staffing losses some seemed to hope for have happened – not through any informed process of rethinking or reimaging the work we do. My concern is that if we don’t change course, these losses will continue and we will have a staffing crisis beyond mitigation."