Seattle Councilwoman Lisa Herbold (D) recently announced they are hiring to have six people to be an alternative response to some 9-1-1 calls as the city is grappling with an undermanned police force, a problem the city has faced since the BLM riots in 2020.
Herbold explained the people who will be responding to calls will be unarmed and the police department will be aware of the calls and it will be up to them if they will be on the scene as well.
"Well, you know, usually I’m complaining about how delayed we are and how frustrated I am that we’re not meeting our benchmarks for developing this program. But today I’m really, really happy to report that the city is hiring for the six positions for its first pilot alternate response team. It’s going to be a way for 911 operators to dispatch calls to somebody other than police somebody other than fire, a crisis responder who is unarmed," said Herbold.
"The police department will be aware of the dispatch. They may attend, they may stage nearby, or they just may have situational awareness. Each call is going to be different, but it’s really exciting that we’re finally up and running with hiring the folks who will be doing this really important work that we have been working on since, I think, August of 2020," she continued.
Another reason for the city's police department being understaffed is the mayor's office wanting the police force to have less white men and veterans.
Not a single local media outlet outside my building reported this story. They wouldn't want to lose access to the thin-skinned mayor.
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) August 17, 2023
Rantz: Mayor’s office demanded fewer white men, military in Seattle police recruitment https://t.co/T3T6O67Ydc