Public safety must be a priority, state legislators say

Public safety should be a top priority for this year’s legislative session, Gov. Jay Inslee and bipartisan state legislators said on the eve of the 2024 legislative session.

“We need additional officers on the street,” Inslee told reporters before the Jan. 8 opening. “And to help local police forces find their additional officers, I’m proposing a $10 million grant program.”

Washington State ranks 50th in the nation for the number of law enforcement officers per capita, Inslee and legislators acknowledged.

At the annual legislative preview with reporters, Republican and Democratic lawmakers and...