State Representative Travis Couture, a Republican from Allyn, has introduced a bill that seeks to provide more funding for public defenders in counties that meet the minimum ratio requirements for law enforcement.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are seeking funding for additional law enforcement, and the proposal is being put forward as part of their efforts.
In a statement, Couture emphasized the importance of both issues, acknowledging that they may seem contradictory at first. He expressed his intention to remove political influences from this contentious matter, allowing legislators to prioritize the essential aspect of ensuring sufficient public safety.
If House Bill 2002 is approved, it will provide an extra $200 million annually to counties, distributed according to county population and the number of criminal cases filed. This legislation allows counties to utilize the additional funding for either indigent defense or law enforcement purposes.
Counties must meet the ratios outlined in the legislation, otherwise, they will be obligated to allocate the funding towards the recruitment of more police officers.
“My main concern, and its significant impact on public safety, lies in the fact that if counties fail to fulfill their constitutional duty of providing public defense for criminal suspects, or if they cannot do so in a timely manner, the courts are left with no choice but to order the release of these suspects,” Couture expressed. “This ultimately leads to criminals being released back onto the streets without serving any jail time or being held accountable for their actions, thereby posing a risk to the general public.”
The legislation aims to restore the 495 police officers that have been lost since 2020 by the end of fiscal year 2025. It also aims to increase the ratio of officers to residents from the current rate of 1.12 to 1.5 officers per 1,000 people. By the end of fiscal year 2026, the goal is to add another 2,200 officers, aiming for a ratio of 1.75 officers per 1,000 residents.
By fiscal year 2027, our aim is to have an additional 7,400 officers in total. Achieving this goal would bring us in line with the national average of 2.33 officers per 1,000 residents.
As of now, Washington has the lowest number of police officers per capita.
According to Couture, the depletion of officers in Washington state due to retirement and morale issues has had a negative impact on the state. He believes that the lack of funding for law enforcement staffing has contributed to this issue. In order to address this problem, Couture has introduced a bill that aims to provide the necessary funding to increase the number of officers in Washington.
Gov. Jay Inslee and Democratic legislative leaders expressed their intention to bolster the number of police officers in the state as the legislative session approached.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee expressed his concerns regarding public safety on January 4th. In his statement, he emphasized the need for multiple actions to address these concerns. The first priority, according to Inslee, is to increase the number of officers on the streets.
Inslee’s 2024 supplemental budget proposal aims to address the needs of the Washington State Patrol by allocating funds to fill 80 vacant positions and establish a new training class for cadets. Furthermore, the proposal includes a provision of $10 million in grants to local government agencies to assist in recruitment and employee retention efforts.
According to Speaker of the House Rep. Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, the main focus in Washington state is to increase the number of police officers. She mentioned that there has been significant expansion of the criminal justice training commission in recent years and they plan to continue with this approach.
The House Appropriations Committee has received HB 2002 for review. The legislative session for 2024 is set to conclude on March 7.
