HomeMy WebLinkAbout021825 Correspondence re Appointment of Interim Sheriff RECEIVED
February 18, 2025 FEB 18 2025
JEFFERSONS COUNTY
Jefferson County Board of Commissioners
1820 Jefferson Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Re: Appointment of Interim Sheriff
Dear Commissioners:
Please allow this letter to strongly recommend that the Board of Commissioners appoint Art
Frank as interim Sheriff. I have known Art Frank since 1994,when he was a detective with the
Glendale Police Department and I was a prosecutor. We worked together again between 2021
and 2023 when I was with the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (PAO) and Art
was a detective with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO). I retired in 2023 and, without
the constraints of having to work with JCSO in future, could perhaps be more candid in my
comments about the department.
Art has much valuable insight into the work of JCSO and its current culture. You will hear his
thoughtful ideas about JCSO becoming a better workplace for its employees and a better
provider of law enforcement service to the community. There are many deputies at JCSO who
genuinely wish to do good work, but there is little direction for improvement or training for
professional development within the department. For two years I reviewed the work product
submitted by JCSO deputies to the PAO for the filing of criminal cases. Many deputies
performed follow-up investigation on these cases and testified at trial. In all these areas, there is
certainly room for improvement. While the attorneys at PAO would, of course, counsel
individual deputies about work on specific cases, there is no internal plan at JCSO for regular,
department-wide training. There is not a broad understanding within JCSO that training is
needed on basic legal issues as well as problems and changes in the law. Nor does there seem to
be much acknowledgement of deficiencies or weaknesses at JCSO, and this is a blind spot which
should not be acceptable. JCSO should be striving to improve itself.
There is no plan within JCSO to give attention to professional development for the deputies. The
department has lost detectives who have returned to patrol because the department is not able to
keep those people, with all their wisdom and experience, working as detectives. In the opposite
direction, deputies coming from patrol to detectives are assigned to very serious cases without
any training. JCSO should be focused on improving the work product of its personnel through
training and providing strong support and feedback within the workplace to its deputies.
Over the course of a 35-year career, I have worked with perhaps dozens of law enforcement
agencies, both large and small. Smaller agencies have unique pressures related to hiring,
stability, and professional development. Art Frank understands those issues, and has ideas and
plans which address all three. His approach to communicating how best to improve the
department has always been constructive, not destructive. Art respects his colleagues, and in
turn has gained their respect. He has a calm demeanor and his speech is measured, even when
addressing a resistant audience. He would like to see JCSO unified in its mission to deliver the
best service to the community. Art Frank will be the steady hand at the helm at JCSO.
Should you wish to discuss this further,or have any questions for me,please do not hesitate to
reach out to Art,who has my contact information. I would be happy to discuss these issues or
any others.
Sincerely,
0441.14fr-
Tuppence Macintyre
RECEIVED
FEB 18 2025
JEFFERSON COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS
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