Everett Police leadership told the City Council on July 23 that the department is making steady progress on recruitment and retention and is near historical staffing baselines when federal grant expansions are considered.

The chief reported the department currently shows 19 sworn full‑time equivalent vacancies but noted that 16 of those positions were added with federal COPS grants in 2022–2023. Measured against the department’s previous baseline of 206 officers (2016–February 2021), the chief said Everett would be about five officers short today — roughly 97% staffed against that pre‑grant benchmark.

The chief described other staffing metrics: a recent hire with a start date of July 28 reduced the listed vacancies by one; a patrol assignment snapshot showed 81 officers — “the highest number that we’ve seen in over a decade,” he said. The department also has a six‑officer bicycle unit plus a sergeant, and has restored a motorcycle traffic enforcement position.

The chief said recruitment and background‑processing improvements — including adding a second polygrapher, weekly hiring‑list certifications, digitized reference checks and remote interviews — are increasing throughput. “We’re on track to process 1,000 background investigations this year,” he said, compared with about 400 in 2020.

The department cited progress on diversity: nearly 40% of applicants between May 2023 and May 2024 were BIPOC; in 2024, nine of 16 hires were BIPOC (56%). The chief said the department does not hire on the basis of demographics alone but that outreach to a wider set of communities is increasing interest from underrepresented groups.

Council members asked about the role of a regional training academy in the recruiting pipeline and about signing bonuses. The chief said the regional academy increases the number of available class slots and makes training more accessible for local candidates; he also said he eliminated signing bonuses when he took the role because he prefers officers who choose the department for the work rather than for one‑time pay incentives.

Council members and other speakers thanked the chief for the update and highlighted related public‑safety programs, including alternative response teams that deploy social workers for non‑violent calls.

The briefing did not include a formal council vote.