Shoreline police report fewer calls and faster responses
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Residents called Shoreline police less, and the police responded faster to 911 calls, cut more traffic tickets, and closed more cases.
The Sheriff contract keeps costs low, said the 2025 Shoreline police services report reviewed by the city council at the April 13 meeting.
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| The average number of dispatch calls for service (DCFS) per patrol officer has declined each year, down from 456 in 2019, reaching 368 calls per officer in 2025, said the report. |
Shoreline residents have been calling the police less often. The police received 16,567 calls in 2018, but that number fell to 13,971 in 2025. Despite vacancies, the average number of dispatch calls per patrol officer declined from 456 in 2019 to 368 calls per officer in 2025, said the report.
Average response times to the highest priority 911 calls continued to improve, dropping from 6.21 minutes in 2023 to 4.24 minutes in 2025, according to the report.
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| With fewer calls, average police response times to the highest priority 911 calls continued to improve, according to the 2025 report, despite staffing shortages. |
Like other cities, Shoreline continues to struggle with police staffing, ending 2025 again with 9 commissioned vacancies, an improvement from 13 vacancies in 2022 after pandemic-era mass resignations.
The police department closed more cases last year: 1,126 cases closed in 2025, up from 665 in 2020, according to the police report. Police also issued more traffic tickets (1,261 in 2025).
Working alongside police officers, the Region Crisis Response (RCR) agency provided de-escalation and behavioral health services for 562 people in crisis in Shoreline during 1,122 encounters.
According to the police report, the city’s contact with the King County Sheriff keeps costs down through "economies of scale” and “has been an effective way to provide quality law enforcement services and contain costs.”
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5 comments:
So police calls/responses went down in our neighborhood for sure when a problematic neighbor moved out. Sadly I don't think responses ended - they just moved to a different area and became someone else's statistic.
When seconds count the police are minutes away. I am not bad mouthing police, they are great. Rather illuminating the fact that we are ultimately responsible for our and our loved ones’ safety.
With respect, I am suspicious of these numbers and data. I personally have had to call the non-emergency police line for Shoreline at least two dozen times in recent months due to a nuisance property and the problems therein. In almost every single call save roughly less than 5, I was transferred multiple times in an automated loop before finally being hung up on. Therefore, I believe they are not calculating these types on unanswered calls though they certainly should. It is deeply frustrating and troubling to have lived in Shoreline for twenty years, hardly ever having a need to contact 911 or non-emergency, and when I need it to report non-911 calls, to rarely get through. Again, respectful submitted.
Send patrols to the Saltwater park.Enforce driving when intoxicated and driving recklessly laws.
Move the homeless out to start. Send them to downtown Seattle and jail them if they come back.
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