Partnerships in Sequim: Yes, they work.

Over a half-decade ago when I arrived in Sequim, our town was a different place. But change and evolution are not something you can stop, even if we'd like those good old days that exist in our memories.

Policing in Sequim and throughout our region has gotten more challenging and more dangerous over my tenure as chief of police. That has meant that developing partnerships and policing smarter have become critical.

For our part, you see some of the best partnerships in policing happening locally.

The Sheriff's Office, Sequim Police Department, Juvenile Department, Department of Corrections and our federal partners share information and facilities, sit in on joint briefings and are tied together through our narcotics task force.



Sharing boosts resources

Sounds like simple common sense doesn't it?

That cooperation is not alive in all areas of the country. The idea that a sheriff's deputy and a city police officer would share a common facility as we do in Sequim is the exception and not the rule across the country.

Sure, personalities, politics - those things impact the criminal justice system just as they do in life in general.

Fortunately that has not been the case in recent years here in Sequim and in Clallam County. Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict and Undersheriff Ron Peregrin have been instrumental in working with, listening to and developing new partnerships that reach all the way to Washington, D.C., to represent our local interests and in seeking new federal dollars to enhance our local resources.



Lynchpin

I have had a unique policing career; I've worked in all three West Coast states as well as in metropolitan and rural venues that also have included airport, seaport and railroad operations.

Needless to say, I've been exposed to all levels of the criminal justice system. Here in Clallam County, today - we have some of the best interagency relationships, information sharing and investigative successes that I ever have seen.

Regardless of big cities or rural venues - things are working, even with strained budgets, in our county. Sheriff Benedict, not one to self-promote, is the lynchpin in our region's many successes.



Leading the pack

Our juvenile department has probation officers working in the field with our officers, exchanging information and closing cases together. The Washington Department of Corrections, sometimes maligned for the level of supervision provided on released felons in some areas of the state, is part of our local policing team.

Our local community corrections officers work out of Sequim P.D., attend our patrol briefings and share information weekly with our staff, which has led to solving significant crimes and apprehending absconders in record time. That's the way it should be - but our area leads the pack.

Customs and Border Patrol often provide needed back-up at a late night traffic stop, chasing felons in the driving rain of a stormy night with our two on-duty patrol officers or providing critical security in those instances where our schools may face a lock-down.

Without this cross jurisdictional support and teamwork, well - things just are more dangerous.



Taking a bite

But citizens can't sit on the sideline. Twenty-five years ago a national campaign was birthed that introduced McGruff the Crime Dog as an American icon that is "taking a bite out of crime."

In the early 1970s, most people thought it was up to law enforcement to prevent crime. However, a group of concerned private citizens and government leaders believed that working individually and collectively, in tandem with the police, could aid in crime prevention.

Since his debut, McGruff has been instrumental in showing adults and youths alike how their involvement can reduce crime.

While crime in general has been reduced from the highs seen in the 1990s, it remains a reality in communities across the nation every day, including Sequim. To this end, it is clear that even with a more diverse, older, technology savvy nation, McGruff the Crime Dog still has a job to do.

In the past quarter-century, McGruff has become more than just a familiar face. He is a true piece of Americana. We all can "Take A Bite Out of Crime."



Robert W. Spinks is chief of the Sequim Police Department.