The city limits of Snoqualmie and North Bend will be both be patrolled by the Snoqualmie Police Department in the future, but much of the Snoqualmie Valley lies outside of these city limits – in unincorporated King County. All that geography is patrolled by the King County Sheriff’s Office, as is the City of North Bend until their contract switch to the Snoqualmie Police Department in March 2014.
With a lot of area to cover, some good news regarding police presence may be on the horizon for residents living in the valley’s expansive unincorporated areas.
Last week the King County Sheriff’s Office announced that by reducing overtime hours, their budget will now allow them to hire 14 new sheriff deputies. Sheriff Steve Strachan said the hiring plan is to add four new deputies in September/October, then five in November and five more in January.
King County Council Member Kathy Lambert, who represents one-third of the county’s unincorporated area residents said, “These deputies will be deployed in the field, patrolling the large unincorporated areas and providing an increased presence of law enforcement that deters criminal activity, in addition to responding to crime reports.”
Sgt. Cindi West said the specific assignments will be determined after the new deputies complete their training and based on the needs of the department, but went on to note that because the southwest region has the highest call load and the Eastside has a larger geographical area to cover, these “areas will likely be where many of the deputies are assigned.”
Will keep you posted!
