Seattle police have hired six times more officers this year compared with the same period in 2024, putting the department on pace to restore its depleted ranks, city officials said.

Why it matters: Seattle has struggled to recruit and retain police officers over the last few years despite signing bonuses of $7,500 for new recruits and bonuses up to $50,000 to lateral hires who come from other departments.

Driving the news: Interim Police Chief Shon Barnes joined Mayor Bruce Harrell, City Council members and new recruits at a press conference yesterday to update the city's progress in rebuilding the police force.

By the numbers: More than 1,200 people applied to join the Seattle Police Department in the first quarter of 2025, up from 690 during the same period last year, Harrell said.

• 160 applicants are currently having background checks run, per Harrell.
• 60 officers had been hired as of mid-April, compared with 10 in the same period last year, he said.

Catch up quick: Last year, SPD received over 4,300 officer applications, more than double the previous year and the highest number since 2013, according to city officials.

• The net gain was just one officer, but it still reflected the department's first staffing increase since 2019.

The big picture: Seattle's current police staffing challenges began amid national unrest, calls for police reform, and a local push to defund the police by up to 50% after the murder of George Floyd.

• In 2020, the Seattle City Council approved a 2021 budget that reduced the Seattle Police Department's funding by about 18%, including cutting overtime and training.
• Over the next few years, Seattle would lose 612 officers and hire 257, with a net loss of 355 officers from 2020 to 2023, KUOW reported.
• In 2022, the city's number of deployable officers dipped to about 950, which was then the lowest staffing level in more than 30 years.

What they're saying: Having more officers means quicker police response times and broader coverage, said Barnes.

• "People say you can do more with less," he said. "You really can't sometimes. You need the people."

Go deeper

Crime is dropping in Seattle and across King County, according to recent data from police and prosecutors, signaling a potential shift after years of pandemic-era surges in violence and theft.

Why it matters: After lagging behind national crime declines, the region may finally be seeing a broader return to pre-pandemic norms.

By the numbers: As of April 25 this year, the Seattle Police Department had recorded 11,331 property crimes and violent offenses, including rape, robbery and homicide, according to the department's crime dashboard.

• If that pace continues, the city is on track to see about 22% fewer such crimes in 2025 compared with the 45,884 reported in 2024, per the dashboard.
• Violent crime alone — with 1,374 incidents recorded through April 25 — is about 20% lower than the 2024 pace.
• Vehicle theft is down about 32% so far this year, per police data.

Zoom out: Seattle's trends mirror a broader pattern across King County, where overall felony referrals — ranging from burglary to serious assault — were down 25% in 2024 compared with 2019, Douglas Wagoner, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, said in an email.

The big picture: Last year, King County saw a notable decrease in gun violence, the first drop in six years, said Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion.

• The prosecutor's office will release 2025 numbers this week showing that gun violence has continued a sustained decline since last year, Wagoner told Axios.

What they're saying: "We needed some good news in this world," said Wagoner. "King County had a rough go during the pandemic, and — while it's not mission accomplished — it's really wonderful to see things turning a corner."

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⚾️ The Mariners head into tonight's game against the Angels atop the American League West, riding a six-series win streak after taking down the Marlins over the weekend. (MyNorthwest)

💰 Donors with ties to Washington — including Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft, Coupang Inc., and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi — contributed $5.3 million to Trump's record-breaking inauguration fund. (Seattle Times)

Unmarried older adults in the U.S. were less likely to develop dementia than those who were married, according to a new study of 24,000 Americans.

Why it matters: That might be welcome news for the Seattle area where nearly half of adult residents are unmarried, according to U.S. Census American Community Survey data.

State of play: The finding seems to contradict the long-held belief that marriage is associated with better cognitive health and longevity.

Context: "Widowed, divorced, and never-married older adults had a lower dementia risk, compared to their married counterparts," the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center researchers say, based on a study of adults aged 50+, who were tracked for up to 18 years.

Between the lines: Previous research has linked marriage to positive health outcomes, including lower risk of heart disease, longer life expectancy and, ironically, even reduced dementia risk.

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