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State audit: most Washington officers are behind on required training; auditors recommend work group
Summary
A May 13 SAO audit found low compliance with the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act'required 40 hours of continuing training and recommended a legislative work group plus stronger project management and reporting to improve statewide completion.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee heard May 13 that most Washington police officers have not completed the 40 hours of continuing training required by the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act.
The State Auditor's Office presented data showing only 16 percent of veteran officers had completed the full 40 hours as of May 2025, while 42 percent of veterans were at least halfway through and 42 percent had completed less than 20 hours. For newer officers, SAO found just 14 percent completed their first-cycle training by the statutory deadline.
SAO auditors said the law, passed after Initiative 900 and implemented in 2019, requires the Criminal Justice Training Commission to develop curriculum and deadlines. Auditors identified 46 topics in the commission's rule and noted the commission had developed more than 40 hours of training content but had not yet produced training for six required topics, three of which were under development during the audit. Auditors also flagged gaps in patrol tactics instruction and a reliance on a decentralised train'the'trainer model that has not produced enough active instructors.
"Only 16 percent of veteran officers completed 40 hours of continuing training," said Robert Evishank, a performance auditor with the State Auditor's Office, during the presentation. Evishank told the committee that patrol tactics in particular are a bottleneck; SAO estimated roughly 2,700 officers must take patrol tactics annually to meet the 2028 deadline, but the Commission's recent annual maximum throughput was markedly lower.
The auditors pointed to operational shortcomings: the commission lacked a project management plan to prioritize topic development, had inconsistent public reporting and did not maintain tools that let it reliably track officers' progress toward the 40'hour requirement. Auditors also noted the law's early amendment removed decertification as an enforcement mechanism, leaving the Commission with incentives rather than clear consequences for noncompliance.
Jerrell Wills, interim executive director of the Criminal Justice Training Commission, said the agency "agrees with the recommendations [and] have already started implementing some of the recommendations," and indicated the Commission would consider formalizing communications about liability and improving oversight steps.
SAO recommended that the legislature establish a work group to review statutory changes and that the Commission adopt a project management plan, improve communications with law enforcement agencies, increase agencies' ability to monitor compliance and report publicly on statewide officer compliance. The committee heard members press auditors and the Commission for follow'up on liability communications, funding to cover training-related staffing needs and whether accreditation or other levers could help enforcement.
The committee did not take formal action during the hearing; SAO staff said cost estimates for state support were outside this audit's scope and recommended the legislatively constituted work group evaluate funding and operational options. The Commission agreed to report back to members if it seeks legislative or budgetary changes.
