Panel offers solutions for sheriff's problems

The panel examining problems within the King County Sheriff's Office essentially concluded its work Wednesday night, adopting a tentative final report that cites a need for more supervisors, increased training, the creation of an internal auditing bureau and establishment of an independent oversight office among ways to improve the department.

"People might disagree what's in there, but nobody can say it's a superficial report," former County Executive Randy Revelle, who was chairman of the Sheriff's Blue Ribbon Panel, said Wednesday. "It's very thorough."

In all, the 10-member panel cited 43 "findings," or problems, within the Sheriff's Office's disciplinary, supervision and management systems. It offered six major recommendations to solve those problems.

Two outside experts -- the independent civilian police auditors for the cities of Denver and San Jose, Calif. -- are now reviewing the panel's report, with each expected to provide suggestions by Friday, Revelle said. The experts' opinions might result in some substantive changes to the panel's work, he said.

Other than that, only minor editorial changes are expected before the report, currently a 60-page draft, goes to print, Revelle said.

Panel members are then expected to formally present the report to the King County Council, Executive Ron Sims, Prosecutor Norm Maleng and Sheriff Sue Rahr in a public meeting on Sept. 11 in council chambers. Until then, the report's specific details will not be made public, Revelle said.

Although some of the panel's recommendations won't come cheaply -- Revelle estimated adding 10 more sergeants would cost $350,000 a year; and creating an Inspectional Services bureau could cost about $367,000 in its first year alone -- other recommendations can be implemented right away at little or no extra cost, he said.

Although the report's specific details won't be made public until it is formally presented to county officials, the panel openly discussed many of its recommendations while seeking to finalize report language and to prioritize them by cost and importance.

The latter exercise was suggested by County Council President Larry Phillips, who told Revelle that such prioritizing could "significantly increase" the likelihood the panel's recommendations will be adopted by county policymakers, Revelle said.

The panel's top nine recommendations are:

Increasing the number of field supervisors overseeing officers.

Creating an Inspectional Services bureau to conduct random audits throughout the department seeking adherence to protocols and policies.

Increasing training of supervisors and other personnel.

Creating an Office of Independent Oversight to monitor internal department investigations.

Developing more professional relationships with police labor unions.

Implementing an early intervention system to identify problem behavior.

Increase staffing on the department's Internal Investigations Unit.

Ensuring that a high-ranking commander is on duty for at least 18 hours per day, seven days a week.

Seeking a qualified outside consultant to conduct a "cultural audit" of the department.

The 10-member panel of politicians, legal and criminal justice experts, administrators and others was appointed in February by county officials to examine department issues in response to the Seattle P-I's ongoing special report, "Conduct Unbecoming," a series that has detailed deputy misconduct and disciplinary shortfalls.

Panel members saw increasing the number of field supervisors as the most significant recommendation. As it stands now, sergeants on some shifts supervise a dozen or more officers, when about half that number would be the ideal maximum, according to some models.

"If I look at the P-I series and say, 'OK, what changes would've solved these problems,' I would say adequate supervision would have," said Faith Ireland, a panel member and former Washington Supreme Court justice.

But all members present Wednesday agreed that all of the recommendations are important and essential in addressing the problems they found within the department.

P-I reporter Lewis Kamb can be reached at 206-448-8336 or lewiskamb@seattlepi.com.

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