New proposal would change Seattle's entrance exam for police

SEATTLE - Year after year, quarter after quarter, data shows officers are leaving the Seattle Police Department (SPD) in droves. Seattle City Council (SCC) President, Sara Nelson believes one remedy to the ongoing recruitment struggle could be changing the way applicants test.

However, her proposal is being met with some criticism. Opponents argue the alternative entry exam she wants Seattle Police to pivot to has a much higher pass rate. Thus, raising the question: Should the department lower its standards to attract more recruits?

"We are not lowering standards. We are maintaining our highest quality standards for the highest quality candidates," Nelson said. "However, if those high quality candidates are being hired by other jurisdictions before we can, that is the problem."

During a one-on-one interview with FOX 13 Seattle's Lauren Donovan, the council president argued the issue has been unnecessarily politicized. She says it's not just about handing over a badge and gun to anyone. Emphasizing that the new exams would still assess anti-bias and de-escalation capacities, essential skills for modern policing.

Nelson claims the current entry exam used by SPD is not utilized by any other jurisdiction, putting Seattle at a disadvantage. The other option used by several other King County law enforcement agencies allows recruits to send out their results to several agencies all at once. Nelson likens it to the SAT.

"That score lives in one place, then it's sent to the colleges one is applying to and that’s what using this exam that’s used by all these other jurisdictions would help do," said Nelson.

Another aspect of Nelson's plan is expediting the application process to reduce uncertainty for applicants. She aims for all entrants to receive a response within 48 hours. They can achieve this by hiring a designated staffer to make personal contact with applicants.

"People end up feeling in limbo at various points of our long process," Nelson said. "They get swooped up by other jurisdictions. We want to make sure that doesn’t happen."

The Public Safety Commission unanimously passed the ordinance on Thursday evening but with some amendments. Right before the vote, Councilmember Rob Saka announced he and Tammy Morales wanted to add a final tweak to address some of the recent allegations of an unsafe work environment for women within the department.

The full council is expected to vote on the ordinance within the next couple weeks.

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