State audit: most Washington officers lag on Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act training; work group urged

The State Auditor's Office told a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee subcommittee on May 13 that Washington law enforcement officers are not making adequate progress on the 40 hours of continuing training required under the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act, enacted in 2019. Justin Stowe, assistant director of performance audit for the State Auditor's Office, introduced auditors who described gaps in training completion and program management.

The audit presentation explained that the law requires a 40-hour curriculum: 16 hours of mostly online community and cultural-awareness training and 24 hours of in-person patrol tactics. "Most officers did not make sufficient progress with required training," senior performance auditor Lehi Bilderbrand said, noting that the Commission had developed the majority of required courses but had not yet produced training for six topics the rule lists.

The auditors presented completion data as of May 2025: Robert Evershink, a performance auditor, said only 16 percent of veteran officers had completed 40 hours; 42 percent were at least halfway through; and 42 percent had completed less than 20 hours. For officers certified within three years of initial certification, he said, only 14 percent had met the requirement by their deadline. Auditors estimated roughly 2,700 officers must complete patrol tactics each year to meet the 2028 compliance date; the Commission's expanded regional training hubs could raise annual throughput to about 1,600, leaving a substantial shortfall.

Auditors identified several causes: the in-person patrol tactics component creates a capacity bottleneck; the Commission relied on a "train-the-trainer" model without assessing how many instructors would be needed; staff shortages and travel/overtime costs make sending officers to in-person training difficult for many agencies; and some officers resist community and cultural-awareness courses. Auditors also found data and reporting shortcomings: the Commission maintained partial attendance and completion records but lacked a consistent process to review whether an officer had completed the full 40 hours, and public reports sometimes included people who were no longer officers, producing an incomplete picture of current compliance.

The audit team recommended that the Legislature establish a work group to consider statutory changes and that the Criminal Justice Training Commission develop a project-management plan, improve communication with law enforcement agencies, increase agencies' ability to monitor compliance, and publicly report statewide officer compliance with required training. "A more systematic approach would help future training development," Bilderbrand said.

Criminal Justice Training Commission interim executive director Jarrell Wills and program staff responded to the committee, saying they appreciate the audit and have already begun implementing some recommendations. Commission staff confirmed they have communicated informally about liability and training importance and said they would consider formalizing those communications and pursuing the performance-monitoring steps auditors recommended.

The committee asked the Commission and auditors to follow up with more details on feasibility, cost estimates for expanding instructor capacity, and whether accreditation or grant conditions could be used to improve compliance rates. The subcommittee did not take formal action at the hearing; members signaled interest in further legislative work and possible formation of the recommended work group.