| I am sworn to protect you all and uphold the laws in this fantastic place we all call home. I do this day in and day out to the best of my ability and with the greatest of pride. I serve with my fellow deputies in the Sheriff’s Office and fellow officers in other local police agencies.
Recently there were articles in the newspapers referring to the Sheriff’s Office receiving eight “new” deputies that we require to even begin catching up to a safe response and area coverage standard. These eight positions were additional positions to assist in our critical staffing shortage and there was a great amount of fanfare in them being granted.
The positions are now quietly being cut. Have you heard the fanfare about this? Has this hit the newspaper or is it being swept under the carpet at election time?
Let me spell this out very plainly for the citizens of Kitsap County. I am not an elected public official, so I do not have to sugar coat it, or hope to say it in a nice way for you. You all need to know how valuable your safety is to your elected officials.
Your Sheriff’s Office is so severely understaffed that we cannot keep up. We are losing the war on crime as it is called, and will continue to do so at an ever-increasing rate. Do not let statistic’s fool you, they can always be skewed. The average number of calls per officer in a department that is considered to have over-worked officers is 10 per shift; we are averaging almost 15 per shift. That is about one half hour per call no matter what the call, including the time it takes to get to the scene, handling the situation and doing the ever-popular paperwork that is almost always required. Do you think this is providing you the quality law enforcement and community protection services You deserve and expect?
The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office is currently “exploring new ways to provide law enforcement services.” To translate this, we are looking for what services we can cut (what 911 calls we will not go to) and still not get ourselves in the limelight.
The citizens are the most important part of Kitsap County. They are the reason that County Government exists, and the reasons that law enforcement officer seek their positions. We exist to protect you.
Commissioner Endresen is now and has in the past been very supportive of the Sheriff’s Office getting the increased staffing we need. She is only one of three votes however, and the other two commissioners, Garrido and Botkin, are not in agreement with increasing the staffing of the Sheriff’s Office.
The Commissioners of Kitsap County are playing with your lives. Do not allow them to do this. You need to let them know now that you are the part of this County that needs to be protected and preserved.
Craig Montgomery, President
Kitsap County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild. | 