Kirkland Annexation Affects Sheriff's Patrols in Woodinville

Kirkland's recent means that unincorporated areas of Woodinville could see a decrease of up to 50 percent of King County Sheriff’s patrols, according to Maj. Jerrell Wills, commander of the Kenmore police precinct.

The East Precinct North in Kenmore dispatches deputies to patrol Woodinville. Much of the area north of Kirkland that the Kenmore precinct was responsible for was annexed into the Kirkland Police Department's territory, an affected territory of about 12.5 square miles.

"A critical piece of this new model is that the area we're speaking of is generally a busy community area," Wills said. "This is the police department consolidating manpower to more efficiently use resources."

The new model took effect June 1. Prior to that, the Kenmore precinct hosted 47 officers. After the change, it now hosts 38 officers. 

This represents a loss of exactly seven deputies, one major crimes detective and one sergeant, according to Wills, though none of the officers is being let go. Each is being reallocated to a different precinct.

In addition, the precinct will also lose three communication specialists, those primarily responsible for taking emergency calls.

"The [average] response times for the calls we get will not be impacted significantly," Wills said. "This is due in large part to the fact that the area we're responsible for is smaller."

Under the previous model, the precinct divided each 24-hour period into three time shifts of eight hours each. (6 p.m. to 2 a.m., 2 a.m. to 10 a.m., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) The three shifts had a minimum of six, eight, and seven on-duty patrolmen, respectively, at any given time for a daily total of 21 officers. 

Under the new model, the precinct will instead have two time shifts of 12 hours in length. (2 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.) The first shift will have a minimum of five officers on duty while the second shift will have a minimum of six officers on duty, for a daily total of 11 officers.

Wills stresses that the reduced minimum is not necessarily an indicator of how many officers are on duty at the time. While the two minimums are different, the actual number of officers on duty varies from day to day.

"There's an interesting difference in what the people and the community think we're allocated budget for, and the reality, what we're actually allocated budget for," Wills said.

He admits that the recent budget cuts might have impacted the overall strength of patrols in the area, but just weeks after adoption of the new model, it's simply too early to tell.

Wills could not provide more specific details on the exact budget reduction the precinct faces (Patch is working on that story and will post soon).

Wills is also considering a change regarding the interactions between the Kenmore police officers and response of deputies to a call for assistance from firefighters. 

Currently, deputies accompany firefighters on all types of emergency calls as back-up. According to Wills, this usually amounts to officers assisting firefighters in breaking down doors to reach victims or dealing with unruly citizens. 

This idea, which is not yet formally proposed to the sheriff, would require fire department personnel to specifically request officers to be present during calls, the logic being that firefighters should only call for law enforcement help when necessary, according to Wills.

"Our response times to some calls like those are long if just for the travel time alone. The reduction in staff, even considering the reduction in the patrol area. It makes it generally tougher overall," he said.