VANCOUVER, Wash. — A statewide plan to add regional police training centers is gaining traction in southwest Washington.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced the plan this summer to create four new regional law enforcement training campuses around the state, likely including one in the Vancouver area, with the aim of relieving a major bottleneck in getting new police officers trained and patrolling the streets.
Right now, there is only place to train future police officers in Washington, at the law enforcement training center in Burien, a suburb of Seattle.
After the governor announced the plan in July, leaders in Clark County have been coming out in support, especially for bringing one of those centers to the region. Most recently, Clark County Council members unanimously passed a resolution supporting a regional campus in Clark County.
"We have one law enforcement training center in this state and that is not enough, and with the efforts that are being made by the governor now and a couple of others working with him that will change, and it needs to change,” said Council Chair Karen Dill Bowerman.
Proponents argue there are several good reasons for adding a training center in Southwest Washington and in other areas of the state. Local agencies are short staffed and looking to hire, so increasing training capacity is important.
Vancouver Police Chief Jeff Mori said his department has 24 vacancies right now, with 40% of the force eligible for retirement in the next two years, so making training possible for more people locally is critical.
“Because right now we are wiping out a large portion of our community that may want to be police officers who can't leave their family (if) they have to go live in Burien for about five months,” said Mori.
The Washington legislature is expected to take up the plan next year. Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, said he intends to sponsor legislation which would include regional campuses in Pasco, Bellingham, Everett and Vancouver.
Vancouver's police chief is working with other law enforcement leaders in the county in anticipation. He said the next step is finding a 20-acre site that could accommodate officer driver training and a 100,000 square foot education center building.
If the new training center does happen, it won't open its doors for several years, but Mori said it would be worth the wait.
“So it's a long process, but once this is built, this will set up Southwest Washington’s public safety communities for 50-plus years, it's desperately needed as our region continues to grow," he said.