King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall announced on Friday, July 8, 2022 the first big steps the Sheriff will be taking as the agency rethinks how public safety is delivered across King County.
The King County Sheriff’s Office contracts police services to the City of Burien.
These updates – released just two months since Cole-Tindall was named Sheriff – focus on four main areas of action: including revising the mission, vision, and values of the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), reorganizing the structure to improve service, creating a strategic framework, and establishing a standing community advisory board.
“The health of our community depends on the ability of every person to live a safe and productive life, and Sheriff Cole-Tindall’s new plan for the King County Sheriff’s Office shows exactly how we can rethink and reimagine the delivery of public safety for the people of King County,” said Executive Constantine. “The Sheriff understands that we must move away from broken structures when they aren’t working for our community and toward sensible reforms that bring about systemic change, and her commitment to this is conveyed throughout these new ideas and actions.”
“Our work must always be centered around the vision and values of the communities we so proudly serve,” said King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall. “I am honored to lead an organization of public servants who share my commitment to implement new and contemporary approaches that enhance trust and public safety.”
At the core of the new strategy is a renewed partnership with community. This commitment is reflected in the revised mission, vision, and values that incorporate policing with compassion, showing and leading with grace, and treating everyone with respect and kindness.
It is also incorporated into the reorganization of the office, which will create two new divisions – Community Programs and Services, and Special Operations – in recognition of both the evolution of the criminal legal system and the need to improve how public safety is delivered.
With the adoption of a new strategic framework and the creation of an advisory board, KCSO will be able to ensure accountability, increase transparency, encourage innovation, and have a forum for trust-building between law enforcement and the community that allows for advisement on policy concepts and implementation.
Sheriff Cole-Tindall and KCSO leadership will begin implementing these new changes in September, 2022.
