On Dec. 18 I participated in a workshop with the county commissioners to discuss medical providers for the jail. At the conclusion of this meeting, the chief administrative officer for Pacific County informed me that he intends to submit a county resolution for voting on Dec. 26 to remove the jail from the sheriff’s office and form a Department of Corrections. This action would take effect on Jan. 1. This does not serve you, the People of Pacific County, and is contrary to the wishes that you have expressed to me.

Corrections staff are opposed to this proposal. I have spoken with the corrections deputies about this. They have expressed to me that should this vote pass, they will be “drastically demoralized.” I was informed that prior to my taking the office of sheriff, jail staff had identified serious liability and safety issues. They had proposed solutions to General Administration, but these proposals “had fallen on deaf ears,” and ultimately no changes were made until I took office in January 2023.

This separation has ripple effects beyond simply changing to whom the corrections staff report. State law states that the sheriff shall attend the sessions of the courts of record held within the county, and obey their lawful orders or directions.

Currently, this requirement is satisfied with the presence of corrections deputies at court proceedings, as they are vested with authority to act as me in my absence. Should this separation be approved, I will have no option but to assign patrol deputies to these tasks. Additionally, we will be required to transport all juvenile detainees to and from court appearances from their holding location in Aberdeen.

What this means to you is a reduced capacity for my deputies to respond to calls for service and patrol the county, as they will now have to be the sole providers of security for the three courts as well as transport deputies for juveniles. Additionally, this separation reduces the sheriff’s office by one commissioned law enforcement and one support staff position despite public outcry for more law enforcement in the county.

The logistics of this separation are also problematic. Spokane County, for example, took an entire year to separate their jail from their sheriff’s office. In that instance, the separation was a collaborative effort between the General Administration and sheriff’s office. Your county commissioners have involved neither you nor me in this discussion, and apparently intend to complete the separation in five days. This transition would necessitate the hiring of a jail manager, in addition to other ancillary costs such as new uniforms, badges, patches, and other miscellaneous equipment.

Perhaps the most troubling factor in this matter is the removal of accountability to you, the people of Pacific County. You elected me to lead the sheriff’s office, of which the jail is an integral component. We are accountable to you in all that we do in the sheriff’s office. Should we fail in your expectations, there is recourse available to you through recall or voting for an alternate candidate in the next election. With this move, you no longer have that recourse.

The rationale presented to me was to mitigate risk to the county government. I do not dispute that correctional facilities carry some of the highest risk to all counties, but there is no one more qualified than the chief law enforcement officer of the county to mitigate these risks. There are far more fiscally responsible and operationally efficient options available. For example, I would welcome the county commissioners funding and hiring a risk manager assigned directly to the sheriff’s office, due to the nuances and specificity of risk unique to a sheriff’s office compared to county departments.

This situation is very nuanced, and a short letter is not enough to explain in detail. In an effort to keep you informed, I urge all of the people of Pacific County to attend the following town hall meetings I have set up to inform you in more detail and hear your input:

• Saturday, Dec. 21, at 1 p.m. at the Tokeland Community Center (2364 Tokeland Rd, Tokeland).

• Monday, Dec. 23, at 7 p.m. at the South County Administration Building (7013 Sandridge Rd, Long Beach).

Your voice is crucial to the service that you receive.

DANIEL GARCIA

Pacific County Sheriff