Audit finds limited progress in police training required under the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act

Washington’s police officers are far from completing training mandated by Initiative 940, a new performance audit found. 

The initiative, which became the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act, requires 40 hours of continuing training for law enforcement officers. The state Criminal Justice Training Commission developed a curriculum that includes: 

• 16 hours of mostly online community and cultural awareness courses, such as “implicit bias” and “American Muslims”  

• 24 hours of in-person training in patrol tactics, such as “managing the pace of an interaction” and “alternatives to the use of physical or deadly force.” 

The Office of the Washington State Auditor found only 14% of new officers had completed the 40 hours of continuing training by their required deadlines.  

Veteran officers must complete the training curriculum by 2028. Auditors found only 16% of these officers completed the full 40 hours of training, while 42% are at least half-way through completion.   

At the current rate of completing the patrol tactics training, about half of all officers will be noncompliant in 2028. 

The audit identified several barriers to ensuring all officers complete the continuing training:  

• The commission lacks enforcement authority, leaving it few tools to encourage officer participation. 

• The commission has the data to determine officers’ compliance, but its reports to the Legislature contain inaccuracies or omissions, reducing accountability.  

• Police agencies also face barriers to tracking their officers’ training compliance using the commission’s data management system. 

• Police agencies said they struggle to meet the demands of training, in terms of both its direct cost and the commitment of officer hours. 

• Police agencies also noted the community and cultural awareness training requires attending two in-person courses, making them more difficult to schedule. And they said some officers question the relevance of the classes. 

The audit’s recommendations include increased transparency through better public reporting of officer compliance data. It also recommends the Legislature convene a work group to address compliance holistically, including officer feedback, financial support for law enforcement agencies, and clarifying the consequences for agencies and officers that have not complied with training requirements.  

“The goal of this law is to improve interactions between police officers and community members,” said State Auditor Pat McCarthy. “By addressing the issues raised by our findings, Washington can continue to build better relationships between law enforcement agencies and the diverse communities they serve.” 

The full report, including recommendations and summary material, can be found on the State Auditor’s Office website: Law Enforcement Training And Community Safety Act - Progress On Training performance audit.

Media questions: Assistant Director of Communications Adam Wilson, Adam.Wilson@sao.wa.gov, 564-999-0799.