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In Our View: Pursue Police Academy

Sheriff Atkins’ proposal for local facility to train law officers merits discussion

The Columbian
Published: May 11, 2016, 6:01am

Faced with a daunting shortage of deputies, Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins has taken a proactive approach that represents strong leadership.

Law-enforcement agencies throughout the state are struggling to maintain a full roster of officers, a situation that leads to increased overtime costs, increased job stress, and a decreased level of service in protecting the public. One of the primary causes of this shortage is inadequate space at the police academy that is managed by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission — an academy that is funded for 10 classes of candidates each year when current demand dictates that 18 are necessary.

Because of that, Atkins is being aggressive in addressing the problem: “Can we hold our own academy class?” He formed a committee to examine the possibility of establishing training classes in Southwest Washington, an idea that has much merit. As Undersheriff Mike Cooke told The Columbian: “We’re going to continue forward as if we will need to have our own academy. We’re hopeful that either more academy classes open up or we can have more slots allocated to us considering the crisis that we’re in. … Our preference would be to send our people to the state academy, only holding our own academy as a last resort.”

The preferable course of action would be for the Legislature to step in and fund an expansion of the state academy in the Seattle area. Lawmakers this year provided for pay increases for the Washington State Patrol, trying to retain officers in response to the law-enforcement shortage. But more spots for the 4 1/2 -month training sessions — which are required for all law enforcement in Washington — should be the next step when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

As it stands now, each training session has room for 30 prospective officers, and 12 of those are reserved for either the King County Sheriff’s Office or the Seattle Police Department. That leaves smaller agencies clamoring for the remaining spots and points out the need for Atkins’ approach.

Yet, there would be some drawbacks to the establishment of a training academy in Southwest Washington. Sue Rahr, executive director of the training commission and a former King County sheriff, said, “It lets the state off the hook. The state not only is responsible by law to provide that training, they’re receiving funding from local jurisdictions, meaning the local taxpayers would be paying twice.” That would be an untenable situation, forcing Clark County residents to double-dip into their pockets when the cost should be shared by citizens throughout the state. Rahr also has concerns about the consistency in training between the state academy and a satellite facility.

These issues would have to be ironed out prior to the establishment of a local training academy, yet they do not appear to be deal-breakers. Cooke said: “It’s a balancing act of how much will (a regional academy) cost to do versus how much will it cost to pay to fill vacancies because we can’t get people into the academy? Right now it looks like it will be beneficial to run our own academy.”

Whether or not that pencils out, the possibility is worth examining. In the end, the Legislature should find the funds to increase law-enforcement training throughout the state and provide adequate attention to the issue of public safety. But in the meantime, Atkins is moving forward rather than idly waiting for lawmakers to act.

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