A wise investment in public safety

Over the past several months, we have been privileged to work with a distinguished panel of community leaders and criminal-justice professionals to review the management and administration of employee discipline in the King County Sheriff's Office. The charge of the Sheriff's Blue Ribbon Panel was to apply our collective experience and expertise to review management systems and make specific recommendations to help the sheriff improve employee conduct, discipline and accountability. This allowed us to formulate key recommendations we believe will make the Sheriff's Office a more effective and publicly accountable organization.

Since 1852, Sheriff's Office deputies have worked to ensure that generations of King County residents have remained safe and secure. As we found in our review, the overwhelming majority of them do it effectively, professionally and with a strong commitment to integrity and public service.

Our blue-ribbon panel found no evidence of corruption, excessive use of force, systemic racial profiling, or widespread misbehavior by deputies. But a number of problems in the Sheriff's Office need to be fixed. We have the right and the obligation as a society to hold those we empower with authority to a higher standard of conduct. All panel members took their mission to address the issues facing the Sheriff's Office very seriously.

The blue-ribbon panel made specific recommendations focusing on upgrading Sheriff's Office management. Specifically, to begin addressing the shortage of front-line supervisors, we have proposed the immediate addition of 10 new sergeants. We also proposed that the sheriff's request for an Inspectional Services Unit be fully funded so that policies, procedures, practices and employee performance can be monitored daily.

In addition, we propose a significant investment in training for all Sheriff's Office employees. It is critical we provide deputies, 911 operators, front-line managers and executives with the skills and training to do their job effectively.

We further recommend the development of an Office of Independent Oversight to strengthen public accountability and transparency in the complaint and discipline processes. An early intervention system was recommended as well so the Sheriff's Office has the tools to intervene and support deputies before small problems become serious.

The blue-ribbon panel members are very pleased the King County Council recently created a new Office of Law Enforcement Oversight. The ordinance enacting the new office into law reflects almost all of the panel's recommendations for an Office of Independent Oversight.

Fully funded, our nine budget recommendations would represent only about a 3 percent increase in the Sheriff's Office budget. The $4 million to $5 million in additional resources would be partially offset by savings in legal and settlement costs attributed to liability and litigation claims brought against and by sheriff's deputies.

Most important, the price tag for the panel's budget recommendations is a reasonable investment to increase transparency, improve service and ensure that our public-safety infrastructure in King County is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Of course, the problems in the Sheriff's Office did not develop overnight, nor will they be fixed overnight. Lasting success will require a measured approach and sufficient time to implement the panel's recommendations.

We are encouraged by King County Executive Ron Sims' recent announcement of support for most of our budget recommendations. It's a good start. We remain convinced, however, that reforming the Sheriff's Office cannot be a piecemeal effort.

Sheriff Sue Rahr is very capable and committed to instituting the reforms needed to put the Sheriff's Office back on course. Through her 100-day plan, she is already implementing important panel recommendations that require no additional funding.

We cannot make policy and budget recommendations and then simply walk away from the sheriff without advocating for sufficient resources to get the job done. In some measure, we are all responsible for public safety in our community. We need to demonstrate our commitment to the quality of life we enjoy by helping our sheriff's employees succeed in their profession.

Public safety is a primary responsibility of government. We strongly and respectfully urge the King County Council and executive to fund all of the blue-ribbon panel's budget recommendations. We have unanimously concluded as a panel that implementing these recommendations will go a long way toward resolving the office's shortcomings. Some question whether we can afford to pay the bill. Our 43 findings indicate we cannot afford not to make the recommended investments.

Funding the panel's nine budget recommendations is an important investment in our community. Our safety and security are certainly worth it.

Randy Revelle, chair of the Sheriff's Blue Ribbon Panel, is a former King County executive and Seattle city councilman. Faith Ireland, vice chair of the panel, is a former Washington state Supreme Court justice and King County Superior Court judge.