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6.3.1 Total Number of Commissioned Officers & Rate per 1,000 Residents
Why is this important?
A fundamental function of local government is to provide a safe environment for all its residents, one in which they have a safe, secure, and productive place to work, live and go to school. One measure of a government’s ability to provide this consists of its number of law enforcement officers relative to the number of residents.
It is important to monitor this indicator because in order for police officers to be able to serve and protect the local community effectively, there must be enough of them. County and municipalities' law enforcement agencies can use this information, along with data on local law enforcement expenditures and overall crime data to evaluate the need and available resources for police officers.
Having too few police can create a situation where criminals know they have better odds of getting away with their crimes, while having too many police officers is not fiscally responsible to taxpayers. Still, it is rare when there is a public outcry that there are too many police officers in a jurisdiction and we never hear speak of their community as being “too safe”. Therefore, it is also important to monitor this indicator in conjunction with the crime rates in Walla Walla County (See: Indicator 6.1.1 for Property Crimes and Indicator 6.1.2 for Violent Crimes).
This indicator measures the number of commissioned police officers working full-time in Walla Walla County for every 1,000 residents. Police departments included in this count are: the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office, the City of College Place P.D., and the City of Walla Walla P.D. Employees of the Washington State Patrol that are stationed in Walla Walla County are not counted. Commissioned officers are defined here as those police officers who have been sworn in, i.e. have taken an oath of service. Additionally, commissioned officers are able to make arrests, while non-commissioned officers and civilian employees are not. Washington State is offered as a benchmark. Additional information, including the total population living within the reporting agency's jurisdiction, can be found in the “Download Data” section.
Where are we?
During 2023 in Walla Walla County there were 92 commissioned officers, increasing from 68, or by 35.3% since 1995.
During 2023, for every 1,000 residents, the number of commissioned officers in:
- Walla Walla County (institutionalized population included) was 1.46, increasing from 1.28 in 1995.
- Walla Walla County (non-institutionalized population) was 1.51, increasing from 1.33 in 1995.
- Washington State was 1.35, decreasing from 1.61 in 1995.
Data Sources
Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs (WASPC): CJIS Statistics and Reports
- Under “Full Time Law Enforcement Employee Count”, select “1980-2023 Full-Time Law Enforcement Employees (Filtered Spreadsheet)”
County Population: See our indicator 0.1.1 Total Population & Annual Growth Rate and click "Download Data."
Penitentiary Population: Under Statistical Reports and Average Daily Population of Incarcerated Individuals in Prisons, see the PDF named "Fiscal Years 2010-2023." Compute the average of ADP for all the months inside the desired year.
Notes:
1) For the overall commissioned officers rate on the county level, commissioned officers with the Washington State Patrol (WSP) are not counted. For the Washington State benchmark (number of commissioned officers per 1,000 residents of the state), WSP commissioned officers are counted. As of the last update to this indicator, the Walla Walla detachment of the WSP had a total of 8 commissioned officers, with only 5 of them working within the county borders.
2) Walla Walla County has a large inmate population from the Washington State Penitentiary. Their numbers are included in this indicator.
