Sen. Holy pushes to hire more officers

CHENEY – A new bill introduced by Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, seeks to boost public safety by increasing the number of police officers across Washington.

Holy's proposal, Senate Bill 5060, asks for $100 million to create a grant program, to help local and tribal governments hire police officers. The funding would come from the state general fund.

"Crime is a growing problem in our state," said Holy. "Washington ranks among the worst states in several categories, including murders, auto theft and retail theft. A key reason is that we also rank 51st nationally for the number of law-enforcement off...