By Michele Smith

Burien residents have an outstanding police department, with the recent change to the new 4-10 schedule, there are shift overlaps that give double coverage, faster response times and more proactive policing for our community. The Burien Police Department is contracted with the King County Sheriff’s Office, there are 42 full-time officers with capacity for more from the Special Crimes Unit with King County as needed. Currently the department is made up of 1 Captain, 1 Chief, 2 Sergeants, 7 Detectives, 25 Patrol, 1 School Resource Officer, 1 Community Service Officer and 4 Special Emphasis Officers who’s specialty range in Marine Rescue to SWAT to Hostage Negotiators.

All Burien Officers must first be hired by and work for the King County Sheriff’s office before becoming a Burien Police Officer. Salary ranges from $61k - $84k per year and Burien is considered a highly desirable department. 50% of the City of Burien’s budget goes to pay for the police department and while body cameras are a hot topic for Seattle Police, Burien is not currently using the technology but is looking into it, citizen privacy issues are a great concern for the department.

Katie Whittier Trefry, Communications Officer for the City of Burien tells us “The Burien Police Department wants the community to understand that they should never hesitate to call 911, don’t wait until an incident happens multiple times to report it, the police department has implemented a new schedule which is designed to provide faster response times and more investigation into criminal issues.“

For the latest from the department, follow them on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BurienPolice/
and Twiiter: @BurienPD