Lateral Officer

Bellingham Police Department is seeking experienced law enforcement officers, to join our team. 

No minimum college education requirement needed for lateral officers with four years of experience.

  • Lateral officer salary range is $73,176 – $94,140 annually. Starting pay and vacation accrual rate is dependent on years of service at previous agency, up to – capped at 10 years of service.
  • Enrolled in the Law Enforcement Officer/Fire Fighter (LEOFF) Plan 2 Retirement System.
  • Matching 4.75% deferred compensation plan and additional city contribution of 1% for which employee matching is not required.
  • Incentives
    • AA Degree or 90 quarter/60 semester college credits – 2%
    • Bachelor’s Degree – 5%
    • Bilingual – 1%
    • K9 Handler – 3.75%
    • Range Officer – 1.75%
    • FTO – 5%
    • SWAT – 2%
    • Detective – 6%
    • Crime Scene Investigator – 6%
  • Vacation accrual per month
    • 1-4 years = 7.34 hours
    • 5 years = 10.34 hours
    • 6 years = 11 hours
    • 7 years = 11.67 hours
    • 8 years = 12.34 hours
    • 9 years = 12.34 hours
    • 10 years = 13 hours
    • 11 years = 13 hours
    • 12 years = 13.67 hours
    • 13 years = 13.67 hours
    • 14 years = 14.34 hours
    • 15 years = 18.17 hours
  • Current Contract
  • Medical Benefits

  • 1040s – Five 10.7 hour workdays comprise a work week.
  • Built on a 28-day work cycle, repeating monthly, with three work cycles and three day off cycles (five on, four off, five on, four off, five on five off)
  • Work 15 days, off 13 days in 28 day work cycle, one 5 day weekend (Wed-Sun each cycle.)
  • Work weeks are Mon-Fri, Wed-Sun, Fri-Tues
  • Friday-Tuesday workweek begins with a training day on that Friday, meaning we offer 12 in-house training days per year for every patrol officer.

All equipment provided by the agency.  This includes all uniforms, outer vest carriers, ballistic vests, firearms, and less lethal options.  Officers also receive a $250 boot allowance every two years.

  • Detective – 6% incentive
  • K9 Handler – 3.5% incentive
  • Crime Scene Investigator – 6% incentive
  • Firearms Instructor – 1.5% incentive
  • Field Training Officer – 5% incentive (while training)
  • Computer Forensic Officer
  • Forensic Video Analyst

  • SWAT – 2% incentive
  • Hazardous Device Unit
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Pilot
  • Crisis Negotiator
  • Defensive Tactics Instructor
  • Emergency Vehicle Operations Instructor