NEW BLOG ALERT: The Problem of Police Overtime 
The Case of the Seattle Police Department (a thread)
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Seattle police department's overtime budget alone is substantially larger than most other Seattle departments, and it has become a backdoor way of growing SPD’s budget, with little oversight as to how this money is spent.
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To illustrate a few examples, SPD overtime budget is: 2.5x larger than the Office of Economic Development. 4.3x larger than the Office for Civil Rights. 4.3x larger than the Office of Labor Standards. 7.5x larger than the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs.
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SPD's overtime budget is more than three times larger than the budgets for all three of the police accountability entities combined.pic.twitter.com/jedxeyKJlD
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So why does this matter? Overtime is not just a budget issue. There is a growing body of research pointing to a direct correlation between problematic police practices and overtime.
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Over the summer, in the wake of mass protests against racialized police violence, SPD spent $6.3 million and 72,619 hours in overtime in just 12 days. 12. DAYS.
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This kind of spending is just one piece of a deeply problematic and systemically racist puzzle. Overtime pay can (and does) create perverse incentives for police and drive racially discriminatory policing. Read the full post here:https://www.aclu-wa.org/story/exploring-divestmentreinvestment-approach-policing-aclu-wa-blog-series-0 …
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End of conversation
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This has been happening in Portland, too. The OT budget climbs by millions every year, with Police & City officials unable to account for why. It's organized crime, literally robbing the public.
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