BELLEVUE, Wash. — The Washington State Patrol may have found an answer to its recruitment crisis by giving raises to troopers on the force.
State lawmakers got the pay hikes passed at the last minute during the legislative session.
At one time, the State Patrol was losing troopers faster than they could replace them at a rate of seven to nine a month.
>>LINK: Apply to be a WSP trooper
Some went to other agencies such as local police departments, but with more pay, troopers say they have more people who keep you safe on the road.
The State Patrol currently has about 145 existing vacancies just in its patrol division alone.
A study carried out two years ago confirmed what leadership noticed: That low salaries kept recruits away and made those who did join the WSP harder to retain.
But this year, lawmakers are giving troopers raises across the board averaging around 18 percent.
“And that applicant pool is getting much smaller, so therefore, we must be competitive. This will help us be competitive and sustain a great agency for many years to come,” said WSP Chief John Batiste.
Some of the pay raises are as follows:
- New troopers will go from around $56,000 a year to $65,000 a year.
- New sergeants go from $86,000 to $103,000 a year.
- New lieutenants will go from $101,000 to $121,000.
Those promises of higher pay and an advertisement campaign may already be helping.
On Wednesday, 49 cadets will graduate from the WSP academy, bringing the open spots down to just below 100.
Cox Media Group
