Mayor Durkan Announces Community Workshops for Chief of Police Search

Seattle (March 6) – Mayor Jenny A. Durkan has announced ten community workshops in all police precincts to assist the Police Search Committee with finding the best candidates for Seattle’s next police chief. The workshops, including one for Seattle’s young people, are open to all Seattle residents and are an opportunity to share their thoughts about what characteristics and experience is needed in the City’s next police chief. Last month, Mayor Durkan announced the Community Input Survey, an online resource for providing feedback, which offered the public the first opportunity to participate in the process. To date, the online survey has received more than 1,000 responses and continues to be available for those who work and live in Seattle to participate.

“The voice of the community is a powerful and essential part of selecting our next police chief,” said Mayor Durkan. “Our next chief must be committed, to deepening the relationship between our neighborhoods that have been disproportionately targeted by our criminal justice system; and to building a diverse and progressive justice system with meaningful and lasting police reform.”

The 25-member search committee, which has extensive experience in criminal justice reform and policing, was announced in December and began meeting in January. The committee is working with a national search firm to gather applications, and upon the end of the community input process, will narrow the field of applicants and submit their recommendation of the best candidates to Mayor Durkan in the coming months. Residents can visit www.seattle.gov/policechiefsearch for more information on the search and community input workshops as well as additional meetings attended by the Police Search Committee.

Community Input Workshops

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