Thursday, October 1, 2026
Olympia Police Department (OPD) Chief Shelby Parker is scheduled to brief the Community Livability and Public Safety Committee on the department’s data on crime trends, current service demands and efforts to maintain public safety.
The presentation on Wednesday, May 6, will highlight the continued high demand for police services.
In 2025, the OPD responded to 53,554 calls for service requiring an officer, completed 6,642 reports, and conducted 5,904 contacts through its Crisis Response Unit (CRU), which included behavioral health-related calls, a staff report shows.
The OPD has 129 full-time employees, including 88 commissioned personnel and 41 noncommissioned staff. The department also supports the community through volunteer work, including volunteers in police service, police explorers and police chaplains.
Since 2025, the department has experienced staffing challenges. As of April 2026, the OPD has 13 commissioned vacancies. However, the staff report notes signs of improvement in recruitment.
This year, the department has hired six new employees (three officers and three CRU staff) and additional candidates are progressing through the hiring process. Many of the candidates are expected to be hired in the second quarter of 2026.
Despite the progress, staffing gaps continue to impact operations and create ongoing service limitations. The staff report states officers in training, including academy recruits and people in field training, cannot yet fully contribute to staffing levels.
As a result, the department has to reassign personnel from specialty units to respond to calls for service. While it maintained core services, it reduced the department’s ability to focus on proactive policing and community engagement.
“These staffing dynamics have also affected the department’s capacity for proactive and community engagement, though this is expected to improve as staffing levels stabilize. Sustained workload demands also contribute to employee fatigue and an increased risk of burnout, underscoring the importance of retention and wellness strategies,” the staff report states.
The report noted other police departments across the county are experiencing the same hiring challenges, including smaller applicant pools, higher attrition rates and lengthy training requirements. Washington state continues to rank among the lowest in the nation for officers per capita, according to the report.
Parker is also expected to outline several wellness programs to improve retention and support employee health. That includes peer support, access to counseling services, cardiovascular screenings through SIGMA Tactical Wellness, and expedited medical care through Ready Rebound.
According to the staff report, the programs are intended to reduce burnout, improve recovery from stress or injury, and support long-term workforce stability.
The update is intended to provide transparency on service levels, staffing and the department’s ability to respond to community needs.
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