Whatcom County Sheriff's Office

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The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office is a law enforcement agency in Whatcom County, Washington.

Whatcom County, Washington County in the United States

Whatcom County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 201,140. It is bordered by Canada on the north, Okanogan County on the east, Skagit County on the south, and the Strait of Georgia on the west. The county seat and largest city is Bellingham.

Contents

Jurisdiction and responsibilities

A Whatcom County Sheriff's office vehicle pictured in 2015. Whatcom County Sheriff- 2015 Chevy Tahoe (17217160492).jpg
A Whatcom County Sheriff's office vehicle pictured in 2015.

The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office is responsible for maintaining the county jail, providing security at the Whatcom County Superior Court, serving civil processes, coordinating emergency management among the county's emergency services, and maintaining law and order in rural areas. [1] [2]

Civil defense protection of the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from military attack

Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from military attacks and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation and recovery. Programs of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s and were implemented in some countries during the 1930s as the threat of war and aerial bombardment grew. It became widespread after the threat of nuclear weapons was realized.

History

The first sheriff was Ellis "Yankee" Barnes who was sworn into office in 1854, during a period in which the border between the United States and British Columbia along Whatcom County had not been fully delineated. That year, Barnes seized and auctioned 34 rams that belonged to Canadian farmer Charles Griffin for Griffin's failure to pay United States taxes. The event was one of several provocations that led to the Pig War between the United States and the United Kingdom. [3]

British Columbia Province of Canada

British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. With an estimated population of 5.016 million as of 2018, it is Canada's third-most populous province.

Pig War (1859) 1859 confrontation between the United States and the British Empire

The Pig War was a confrontation in 1859 between the United States and United Kingdom over the British–U.S. border in the San Juan Islands, between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The Pig War, so called because it was triggered by the shooting of a pig, is also called the Pig Episode, the Pig and Potato War, the San Juan Boundary Dispute and the Northwestern Boundary Dispute. With no shots exchanged and no human casualties, this dispute was a bloodless conflict.

United Kingdom Country in Europe

The United Kingdom (UK), officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

In 1863 James Kavanaugh served as sheriff. Kavanaugh, who married Princess Tol Sol of the Swinomish tribe, had previously served as the first United States Marshal in the Pacific Northwest. [4] [2]

Pacific Northwest Region that includes parts of Canada and the United States

The Pacific Northwest (PNW), sometimes referred to as Cascadia, is a geographic region in western North America bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and (loosely) by the Cascade Mountain Range on the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common conception includes the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) and the U.S. states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Broader conceptions reach north into Southeast Alaska and Yukon, south into northern California, and east to the Continental Divide to include Western Montana and parts of Wyoming. Narrower conceptions may be limited to the coastal areas west of the Cascade and Coast mountains. The variety of definitions can be attributed to partially overlapping commonalities of the region's history, culture, geography, society, and other factors.

In 2005 the sheriff's office reported 80 deputies and 53 corrections officers on-staff. [2]

As of 2016, the sheriff is Bill Elfo. [1]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Whatcom County Sheriff's Office". whatcomcounty.us. Whatcom County, Washington . Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "WHATCOM COUNTY CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION Record of Proceedings". whatcomcounty.us/. Whatcom County, Washington . Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  3. Tower, Elizabeth (2016). Over The Back Fence. Publication Consultants. ISBN   1594332851.
  4. "Back in the day in Anacortes". Skagit County Herald. February 18, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2016.