'Defund is dead': Seattle leaders say it's time to hire more police

Seattle Police Department leaders say they need to hire more officers — and quickly.

On Tuesday, interim Chief Sue Rahr updated the Seattle City Council on crime trends and the department’s inability to attract more officers.

Rahr's update came just two months into the job, after she'd taken over for former Chief Adrian Diaz.

RELATED: Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz out; former Sheriff Sue Rahr interim

She emphasized upticks in some violent crimes and shots fired around the city so far this year. But the real focus of the Council briefing was SPD’s short staffing. Rahr put it bluntly: "We're in a staffing crisis," she said. "We're down 400 officers, and we are doing our level best to try and increase our ability to hire more officers more quickly."

She that on Saturday night, every precinct in the city was missing officers.

One of the main reasons Rahr cited for the lack of officers is Seattle's lengthy application and screening process. Other law enforcement agencies, she said, have larger pools of applicants because their process is quicker.

"I'd like to see us use a testing process that is much more low-barrier and faster," Rahr told the City Council.

Her predecessor, Diaz, told the Council earlier this year that SPD is also interested in speeding up internal reviews, so officers who are under investigation can return to work faster.

At Tuesday's briefing, most members present agreed with Rahr that the hiring process needs to be streamlined. But critics have said they're concerned that lower hiring barriers could mean lower hiring standards.

RELATED: Seattle Police watchdog heads ignored complaints against former Chief Adrian Diaz: letter to council

Rahr also said the City Council members themselves are crucial to attracting more officers, as politicians' tones matter.

"Your message has been crystal clear to me," she said. "I've been able to convey that message to the front-line officer, that we have the support of this Council. It's a little bit of a new message for them."

Councilmember Rob Saka re-affirmed his support to quickly hire more police.

"The public safety challenges that we're experiencing today are a shameful legacy of the defund the police movement. And that was wrong then. It's wrong now," Saka said. "From my perspective, defund is dead."

RELATED: Off the Charts: Did Seattle defund the police?

The Seattle City Council never actually defunded the police department, though some previous members called for big reforms. This current Council is much more supportive of hiring bonuses, money for relocating, and other incentives to attract officers to Seattle.