The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office in May received WASPC (Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs) Accreditation for both the Jail and Operations/Administration.
Official recognition by WASPC membership will be at the fall WASPC conference in Skamania County. This dual accreditation was a first for a Washington State Law Enforcement Agency; no other agency has done both at once.
Because of COVID delays and scheduling, the plaques were not delivered until early July.
The jail had been previously accredited four years ago (2017). Clallam County was the first county jail to become accredited since the program was adopted by WASPC in 2016.
The re-accreditation this year required strict, continual, adherence to 172 standards regarding operation and administration of the Clallam county Jail.
Clallam County Operations and Administration were first accredited under the current standards in 2009 and has been re-accredited every four years since, culminating with a May 21 reaccreditation. Achieving this requires strict adherence to 137 WASPC standards.
According to WASPC: The purpose of law enforcement agency accreditation is to professionalize the law enforcement industry by providing a review process for agencies to be certified as operating under industry best practices and standards. In 1976 the Association was directed by the Washington State Legislature to develop standards and goals for Washington State Law Enforcement. The Association has maintained an operational accreditation program since that time.
Some of the areas covered by accreditation include:
• Goals and Objectives
• Role and Authority
• Use of Force
• Management, Staffing, Organization and Utilization of Personnel
• Records Management
• Information Technology
• Unusual Occurrences
• Health and Safety
• Fiscal Management
• Recruitment and Selection
• Training
• Performance Evaluation
• Code of Conduct
• Internal Affairs
• Patrol Function
• Investigative Function
• Evidence and Property Control Function
• Prisoner Security
Pictured is a photo of Sheriff Benedict with WASPC Director of Professional Services,
Mike Painter and John McGrath, WASPC Jail Services who conducted the final assessment of our agency on April 13, 2021.
Pictured, from left, are Corrections Sergeant Don Wenzl, Chief Corrections Deputy Wendy Peterson, Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict, WASPC Jail Services Liaison John McGrath, WASPC Director of Professional Services Mike Painter, Chief Civil Deputy Alice Hoffman and Detective Sergeant Eric Munger. Submitted photo
