PORT HADLOCK — A report by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs evaluating the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is the first step in earning accreditation by the group, according to the sheriff.
“The accreditation process will take about two years,” said David Stanko, who has been in office since November 2014.
“When we finish, we will be able to implement best practices that will make the department more effective,” he added.
The 74-page report was completed over the summer by association representatives who spent two days interviewing staff and inspecting all aspects of operations.
“These guys were serious,” Stanko said. “They were all wearing suits and they looked at everything.”
110 recommendations
The association will issue the department its accreditation after it implements all of the 110 recommendations in 18 categories.
Accreditation is given to a department that “is implementing best practices and is transparent and open,” Stanko said.
The report was delivered to the Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 18 but was released last week because the office did not have the time or resources to discuss or begin implementing the recommendations, Stanko said.
In a cover letter, Mitch Barker, the association’s executive director, said he “applauded the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office for taking a step toward excellence” for inviting the examiners to conduct the investigation.
“For an agency to undergo a complete review of its organizational structure, there must be a desire to provide quality services to the citizens of the state of Washington at all levels of agency staffing,” Barker wrote.
Of the current structure, the report concludes “Stanko and [Undersheriff Joe] Nole appear to form a complementary leadership team and have worked hard to change the department culture and chart a course for organizational success that is supported by a community policing philosophy.”
Locker concerns
Stanko said one of the most significant recommendations concerns the evidence locker, a secured closet-like room with guns, drugs and other evidence gathered over the past decade or longer.
The recommendation is to catalogue and inventory each item using barcodes and to increase security so that only two or three people can enter with key cards.
The report also recommends that credit checks and drug tests be administered to all potential employees during the hiring practice, something the department currently does not do.
An employee found to be working under the influence is subject to disciplinary action or a requirement to enter into a rehabilitation program, Stanko said.
Even though recreational marijuana use is legal, it could be a cause for dismissal should an employee use it while on or off duty due to being under federal jurisdiction, although there would be no penalty if he or she had used it before their employment, Nole said.
Stanko has designated Nole as the department’s accreditation officer, putting him in charge of checking off each of the recommendations.
Once accreditation is earned, it can be revoked if the department doesn’t pass subsequent inspections, which occur every three years, Nole said.
“It’s good that the sheriff is going forward with this, as it’s the way that business should be done anyway,” Nole said.
To view the report, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-Sheriff.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
