Washington
Washington's 39 counties each elect a sheriff under RCW 36.28. Unlike California, Washington has no statewide statute mandating county-level civilian oversight; only King County has chartered such a body (the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight). The state operates centralized accountability through the Office of Independent Investigations (HB 1267, 2021) for use-of-force cases and the Criminal Justice Training Commission for officer certification and decertification.
Data from CA State Controller's Office and CA State Sheriffs' Association.
State context
This section profiles all 39 Washington counties with the elected sheriff's name and whether the county operates its own jail. Staffing, budget, and facility-level capacity data are planned for a Phase 2 release once the Washington State Auditor's BARS extracts are integrated. See law.ungovr.org/oversight/wa for the state-level oversight architecture.
Counties
| # | County | Status (date) | Started (date) | LE capability | Independence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | King | Active 20 years | 2006 | 21/40 | 65/100 | |
| 02 | Adams | — | — | — | — | |
| 03 | Asotin | — | — | — | — | |
| 04 | Benton | — | — | — | — | |
| 05 | Chelan | — | — | — | — | |
| 06 | Clallam | — | — | — | — | |
| 07 | Clark | — | — | — | — | |
| 08 | Columbia | — | — | — | — | |
| 09 | Cowlitz | — | — | — | — | |
| 10 | Douglas | — | — | — | — | |
| 11 | Ferry | — | — | — | — | |
| 12 | Franklin | — | — | — | — | |
| 13 | Garfield | — | — | — | — | |
| 14 | Grant | — | — | — | — | |
| 15 | Grays Harbor | — | — | — | — | |
| 16 | Island | — | — | — | — | |
| 17 | Jefferson | — | — | — | — | |
| 18 | Kitsap | — | — | — | — | |
| 19 | Kittitas | — | — | — | — | |
| 20 | Klickitat | — | — | — | — | |
| 21 | Lewis | — | — | — | — | |
| 22 | Lincoln | — | — | — | — | |
| 23 | Mason | — | — | — | — | |
| 24 | Okanogan | — | — | — | — | |
| 25 | Pacific | — | — | — | — | |
| 26 | Pend Oreille | — | — | — | — | |
| 27 | Pierce | — | — | — | — | |
| 28 | San Juan | — | — | — | — | |
| 29 | Skagit | — | — | — | — | |
| 30 | Skamania | — | — | — | — | |
| 31 | Snohomish | — | — | — | — | |
| 32 | Spokane | — | — | — | — | |
| 33 | Stevens | — | — | — | — | |
| 34 | Thurston | — | — | — | — | |
| 35 | Wahkiakum | — | — | — | — | |
| 36 | Walla Walla | — | — | — | — | |
| 37 | Whatcom | — | — | — | — | |
| 38 | Whitman | — | — | — | — | |
| 39 | Yakima | — | — | — | — |