Tacoma Is Hiring 12 New Police Officers — But There’s a Catch

Tacoma is getting help from the state to significantly expand its police force — at least for now.

The City Council has accepted a $4.6 million state grant that will allow the Tacoma Police Department to hire 12 additional police officers, along with three support employees and a contract psychologist.

For a department that has spent years trying to recruit and retain officers, that’s a meaningful addition.

But there is one important complication: the state money is temporary.

The grant currently covers the new positions only through June 2027, with the possibility of funding for one additional year. After that, Tacoma would have to find another way to pay for the added employees if it wants to keep them.

That makes this more than just a story about 12 new officers. It is also a story about whether Tacoma can afford to keep them once the outside money disappears.

The $4.6 million grant will cover personnel costs for the new officers and support positions.

Tacoma is contributing some money of its own as well. According to reporting on the grant, the city expects to use roughly $500,000 in public-safety sales-tax revenue, plus about $1.6 million for vehicles, equipment and other costs associated with bringing the additional officers on board.

The new staffing package includes more than sworn officers.

In addition to the 12 officers, the funding supports three civilian support positions and a contract psychologist for the department.

The psychologist is particularly notable because law-enforcement agencies increasingly use mental-health professionals for employee wellness, evaluations and support following traumatic incidents.

The grant arrives while TPD is already actively recruiting.

The department currently advertises a $50,000 hiring incentive for new and lateral officers — $25,000 when they are hired, another $12,500 after completing probation and the remaining $12,500 one year later.

That gives some perspective on just how competitive police recruiting has become.

Police departments throughout the region have been competing for a relatively limited pool of qualified applicants, and Tacoma has been trying to rebuild staffing while also replacing officers who retire or leave the department.

Adding 12 positions through grant funding gives Tacoma an opportunity to increase the size of the department without immediately putting the full payroll burden on the city’s general fund.

The bigger question begins when the state grant expires.

Tacoma is already under significant financial pressure. The city instituted a hiring freeze earlier this year as it works through a projected budget shortfall, although critical positions can still be approved through a review process.

That naturally raises a question:

What happens to these 12 officers when the grant money goes away?

Police Chief Patti Jackson has indicated she does not expect the officers to simply be laid off if Tacoma cannot find replacement funding.

Instead, the department could potentially absorb them through normal attrition as other officers retire or leave.

In other words, the 12 grant-funded officers could remain employed while vacancies elsewhere in the department simply go unfilled.

That approach could protect the individual jobs — although it would also mean the grant might ultimately provide more of a temporary staffing boost than a permanent 12-officer expansion.

Hiring 12 officers does not mean 12 fully trained officers instantly appear on Tacoma streets.

Entry-level recruits must go through the hiring process, background investigations and law-enforcement training before becoming independent patrol officers.

So the impact of the grant will likely roll out gradually rather than all at once.

Tacoma is already encouraging both entry-level applicants and experienced officers from other agencies to apply, with lateral hires potentially reaching the street considerably faster than brand-new recruits.

The staffing increase is arriving during a broader period of change at TPD.

Earlier this month, Chief Jackson announced a new Tacoma Public Safety Partnership, an 18-month pilot intended to bring community members, police leadership and department employees together for regular discussions about issues including staffing, training, accountability and critical incidents.

The combination suggests Tacoma is trying to address public safety from two directions at once: adding police capacity while also increasing community involvement in how the department operates.

For residents, though, the most visible change from this grant should eventually be straightforward: more officers available to TPD.

The unanswered question is whether Tacoma can make that increase permanent.

The state has given the city roughly $4.6 million and a window of time to add 12 officers.

By next summer — or perhaps the summer after that if the grant is extended — Tacoma will have to decide how much keeping them is worth.