East Wenatchee Police Department earns full WASPC accreditation

EAST WENATCHEE — The East Wenatchee Police Department has been formally accredited by the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs (WASPC), marking a major milestone in the department’s multi-year effort to modernize operations, update policies, and meet statewide best-practice standards.

The announcement came during WASPC’s fall conference in Kennewick last week. Accreditation requires agencies to demonstrate compliance with 146 best-practice standards, covering areas such as evidence handling, facilities, policy development, and training. Of Washington’s 228 police departments and 39 sheriff’s offices, only 81 agencies, or about 30%, currently hold WASPC accreditation.

The accomplishment also positions East Wenatchee to make full use of the recently approved 0.1% local option sales tax for criminal justice and public safety, which the Legislature limits to agencies that maintain WASPC accreditation. The East Wenatchee City Council adopted the measure earlier this year. The increase raised the local rate from 8.6 to 8.7%, still 0.77% below the statewide average sales tax of 9.47%. City leaders have described the measure as a nominal adjustment intended to support long-term public safety needs without significantly increasing the overall tax burden on residents and shoppers.

According to Chief Rick Johnson, the department began its path toward accreditation in 2019, when then-Chief Randy Harrison requested a Loaned Executive Management Assistance Program (LEMAP) review through WASPC. That review identified 103 practices or policies in need of attention.

Johnson said accreditation was a goal he and Mayor Jerrilea Crawford established at the start of his tenure in June 2020. Since then, the department has been working through the LEMAP recommendations while preparing for the full accreditation audit. “Over the last 5.5 years very little has gone untouched at EWPD,” he said.

One of the most significant changes was relocating out of the department’s long-time, fragmented footprint — a 1,300-square-foot space behind City Hall and a small house in the parking lot — into a larger, consolidated facility. Johnson noted that the physical limitations of the old space made accreditation impossible.

Other improvements included reworking evidence processing and storage, establishing an internal training program, and updating policies across the organization. Several of these changes required adjustments to working conditions, developed in collaboration with the police union.

When WASPC evaluators completed their review, Johnson said the department was found 100% compliant with all 146 standards, with no recommendations for changes or corrections. He credited Accreditation Manager Jillian Simmons for leading the extensive documentation work required for each standard.

The East Wenatchee Police Department will seek re-accreditation in 2029.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media