Trends: Tri-Cities growth outpacing police forces

Local police and sheriff’s departments added two dozen commissioned officers from 2006-14, an 8 percent growth rate that pushed the total to 335 officers.

Over the same period, Benton and Franklin counties added 48,300 residents, a 21 percent growth rate.

The result: There may be more deputies and police officers on hand, but law enforcement fell behind on a per capita basis, according to the latest report from Benton-Franklin Trends.

Between 2006 and 2014, law enforcement coverage in Benton and Franklin counties dropped to 1.2 officers per 1,000 residents, from 1.4. Statewide, there were 1.5 commissioned officers in 2014, down from 1.6 eight years earlier.

Trends is an initiative of the Center for Public Policy and Economic Analysis at Eastern Washington University to measure key civic, educational and economic aspects of the community using state and federal data.

This week’s report looks at law enforcement coverage and comes with a big caveat: The numbers predate the passage of Benton County’s public safety tax. In 2014, voters agreed to a three-tenths of a percent sales tax to pay for public safety initiatives, including more police.

Kennewick alone planned to add 15 new officers with the new revenue. Hiring and training officers is an ongoing process that will improve the coverage numbers.

The figures are drawn from statistics compiled by the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs. For those interested in a deeper look, the association posted a spreadsheet detailing law enforcement numbers going back to 1980.

The Trends data is free and posted online. Go to bit.ly/BFTrends.

This story was originally published July 31, 2016 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Trends: Tri-Cities growth outpacing police forces."