Washington's $100M Police Hiring Grants Slow to Reach Local Departments

Rollout of new state program faces technical issues and bureaucratic hurdles, frustrating local officials

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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Washington's new $100 million program to boost police hiring has yet to reach cities and counties, with local officials frustrated by the slow rollout and technical issues. The first round of applications is open through the end of March, but so far only six police departments have applied. The program faces challenges, including concerns from local governments about the difficulty of bringing on officers with temporary state dollars and requirements for cities and counties to impose a new 0.1% sales tax to fund public safety.

Why it matters

The police hiring grant program is a key part of Washington's efforts to address the state's status as having the lowest police staffing per capita in the nation. However, the slow rollout and bureaucratic hurdles are hindering the program's ability to quickly get funds to local departments that are struggling with staffing shortages.

The details

The $100 million grant program championed by Gov. Bob Ferguson requires local governments to meet a number of criteria, such as following state model policies, training on crisis intervention and de-escalation, and collecting use-of-force data. These added requirements have created a 'tremendous amount of bureaucracy' that city and county officials say falls on them on top of their other responsibilities. Only seven of the state's 39 counties have taken the first step to try to pass the new 0.1% sales tax that is a prerequisite for the grants, and about two dozen cities have started the process.

  • The first round of grant applications is open through the end of March 2026.
  • The Criminal Justice Training Commission expects to decide on awards within weeks of the March 31 application deadline.

The players

Derrick Nunnally

Government relations advocate at the Association of Washington Cities.

Gail Stone

Project director working on the grant program at the state Criminal Justice Training Commission.

John Williams

City Administrator of Lynden, one of the first cities to pursue the new state funding.

Steve Strachan

Executive director of the Washington Association for Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

Derek Young

Executive director of the Washington State Association of Counties.

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What they’re saying

“Is it concerning to cities across the state that nobody has received money from this new law yet? Yes, absolutely.”

— Derrick Nunnally, Government relations advocate, Association of Washington Cities (dailyfly.com)

“Getting through the verification process is a very heavy lift.”

— Gail Stone, Project director, Criminal Justice Training Commission (dailyfly.com)

“It's been very frustrating, nail-biting, to be sure that you were going to be able to meet the requirements.”

— John Williams, City Administrator, Lynden (dailyfly.com)

What’s next

The Criminal Justice Training Commission plans to host several more rounds of grant applications after the initial deadline at the end of March 2026.

The takeaway

The slow rollout and bureaucratic hurdles of Washington's new $100 million police hiring grant program highlight the challenges of quickly getting funds to local departments that are struggling with staffing shortages, even as the state tries to address its status as having the lowest police staffing per capita in the nation.