Lack of fish and game enforcement?

[Dave]

Hi all. I’m in my 20th year of law enforcement. I can tell you with confidence that the reason WDFW doesn’t have more officers in the field is simple. There are not enough qualified applicants. Yes funding is an issue with every agency, every year but hiring guidelines are usually based on the number of citizens per officer in a given jurisdiction. I am sure most of you notice or are aware that most law enforcement agencies are short handed resulting in longer response times and less personal police service. The reason is that it is very difficult to find qualified folks to hire and this applies to the WDFW as well. Every year thousands apply for law enforcement jobs in WA and in any given agency, only a handful ever make it past the written and physical agility test. This doesn’t apply to huge agencies who may hire 40 people in one year. I guarantee you that a department hiring 40 people is not getting 40 excellent candidates. Larger agencies faced with large numbers of new personnel can’t be as picky when hiring so some who are less qualified get those jobs. Kinda scary if you think about it. So the testing process: Those who pass the written and physical agility tests (which are usually both given the same day) are put on a list and await further testing. After making the list, background checks start. This means a full computer check to include a check of the applicants criminal history in the U.S which is called a triple I. If they pass the computer checks meaning they don’t have a felony conviction or other criminal history which eliminates them from being law enforcement officers in WA, investigators are sent to the applicants home town and current living location, and we interview everyone we can who is related to the applicant. We visit neighbors, previous employers, schools, family and friends and we learn everything we can about them. If they pass the background check, they still face a polygraph, a physiological, an oral board interview, and a doctor’s physical. All this before being hired and sent to the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) located in Burien, WA. The Police Academy is nearly 6 months long and some don’t make it. There is also a CJTC in Spokane, WA but I believe it only runs a couple classes per year. Lastly, an academy is sometimes held in Everett, WA run by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office (one currently going on now). The WDFW goes through a very similar hiring process and their officers all attend the same academy we do as described above. So it’s not solely a funding issue (although most agencies have funding issues). It is definitely a hiring issue; the same issue all police agencies in WA experience. As for law enforcement officers enforcing fish and wildlife laws. Any commissioned law enforcement officer in WA can enforce any Revised Code of WA (RCW) including title 77 which covers fish and wildlife laws, and the WA Administrative Code (WAC). The problem with doing so, is finding time between the hundreds of calls received daily by most agencies. Law enforcement today is reactive, not proactive. It takes proactive enforcement effort to seek out fish and wildlife violations and most of the time we don’t have the spare time to do so. Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to give accurate and detailed information.

[Dave]

I was looking at the WDFW site. It appears there are 122 commissioned officers for the state of WA, 6 regions. WDFW officer positions are posted twice per year. I believe one member stated that their pay was poor and another brought up funding. Their pay is excellent as far as law enforcement jobs go. Funding on the other hand is an issue in every agency. Check out the job posting at the criminal justice training commission site. You will see that WDFW jobs pay better than almost any agency in eastern WA and are comparable to most in western WA. Interesting! Here are the WDFW numbers regarding salary.

Fish and Wildlife Officer 1 (entry level) $4134 – 5292/mo.

Lateral Transfer Fish and Wildlife Officer 1 $5292/mo. (Transfer from an outside law enforcement agency and already completed WA Criminal Justice Training Commission Basic Law Enforcement Academy, or equivalent)

Fish and Wildlife Officer 2 (3-4 years and completion of Career Development Plan) $4564 – 5842 /mo.

Fish and Wildlife Officer 3 (Master Instructor / Large Vessel Operator [5 years+]) $4793 - 6134/mo. (here with a specialty they are making 6134. that’s great money)

[Marc Martyn]

Dave,
Don't apologized for the long post. Your informed input is exactly what the readers were looking for. Your knowledge and experience is greatly appreciated.
Law enforcement in todays world must be extremely complicated and difficult. We greatly appreciate your dedication and how you are contributing to our society. :thumright