Shoreline council hears police services report as response times improve and RACER expands
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Summary
City police leaders told the Shoreline City Council that 2025 response times improved, staffing is recovering from a recent dip, RACER mental-health co-responder contacts rose and complaints and uses of force remained low. Councilors pressed for details on RACER coverage and long-term staffing plans.
Shoreline officials on April 13 heard a detailed police services report highlighting improved emergency response times, expanded mental-health co-responder work and efforts to rebuild staffing after a multi-year shortfall.
Police Chief Tommy Collins told the council the department currently counts 53 full-time employees, including two captains and 47 deputies, and reported nine vacancies as of Jan. 1. “We were at 90% staffing last July; we’re trending back from a low point, but recruiting and retention remain our top challenges,” Collins said. He said the department has recently placed seven new hires in the academy.
Operations Captain Brian Angel said patrols logged 33,217 contacts in 2025 — an aggregate of dispatch calls, alternative call handling and officer-initiated contacts — and credited increased on-view activity with reductions in several crime categories. He reported a drop in priority one response time from 5.3 minutes to 4.2 minutes year over year.
Captain Kevin Woodruff described investigative gains: a fuller detective unit is increasing case closures and special enforcement work has identified human-trafficking victims and related prostitution cases. He said targeted enforcement can raise counts for particular offense categories because deputies are focused on identifying those crimes.
The report also noted low formal complaint and use-of-force rates: of the roughly 33,000 contacts recorded, staff reported nine complaints (six later exonerated; three handled by additional training) and five uses of force, described as within policy and the least force necessary.
Collins and staff highlighted the RACER co-responder program as a resource piece: Shoreline now has four RACER mental-health professionals who recorded roughly 1,122 encounters and served about 562 individuals. “They’re a great partner,” Angel said, noting RACER outreach and the partnership’s contribution to community responses.
Councilmembers welcomed the metrics but pressed for more detail. Councilmember Roberts asked about the gender breakdown and racial diversity of the explorer program; Angel said the nine explorers include three females and two persons of color and that the advisor is a woman. Several councilmembers asked how many calls RACER could realistically attend; Collins said the answer is call-dependent and that precise percentages would require a closer review of call types and RACER staffing capacity.
On recruitment and retention, Collins described staffing as ‘‘hourglass-shaped’’ with many retirees approaching eligibility and a sizable cohort with under five years’ service. He said the sheriff’s office has prioritized filling vacancies and the city has seen recent progress, but he warned the city may face further retirement-driven turnover in coming years.
The presentation also described community outreach efforts, including a partnership with the nonprofit Blue Bridge Alliance that supplies deputy gift cards for immediate assistance to residents in need.
The council did not take formal action on the report; staff said they would return with any requested follow-up figures and clarifications.
