No cops hired so far with WA's new $100M grant program

Money from Washington’s new $100 million program to boost police hiring has yet to reach cities and counties.

Local officials have been frustrated with the rollout of the grants championed by Gov. Bob Ferguson to address Washington’s status as dead last in the nation in police staffing per capita. They complain it’s been slow and rife with technical issues.

“Is it concerning to cities across the state that nobody has received money from this new law yet?” said Derrick Nunnally, government relations advocate at the Association of Washington Cities. “Yes, absolutely.”

The first round of applications is open through the end of March. The Criminal Justice Training Commission expects to decide on awards within weeks of that deadline.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/02/24/no-cops-hired-so-far-with-was-new-100m-grant-program/