Central Washington to Lead Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs in the Coming Years

Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones was recently elected to the position of Vice President with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), while Wenatchee Chief Steve Crown moved into the role of President-Elect.

WASPC is an organization of over 800 members, including all 39 elected county sheriffs and 240 police chiefs. It's goal is to support law enforcement through legislative and lobbying efforts in Olympia and around the state.

Crown said he's been with WASPC about ten years, which includes working as co-chair on a couple of committees.

"I'm excited about working in that capacity." stated Crown, "Right now it's probably one of the most contentious times that I can remember in my 30 years in law enforcement."

Jones, who has been an executive board member for the past two years, sees this as an important era for law enforcement in Washington State after a lot of legislative changes were made just this year.

Jones said, "One of my biggest priorities is to continue to work legislatively to make sure that sheriffs, police chiefs and organizations around the state are represented."

As WASPC's newest Vice President, Jones will move up the ladder into the role of President-Elect in 2022.

"I will then take over the Presidency in the 2023-24 year," added Jones.

Based on WASPC's system of cycling through the leadership positions, Crown will become President of WASPC in 2022. Crown says the fact that he and Jones will be back-to-back Presidents after this year is hugely advantageous for Central Washington.

"A lot of the bills that you saw pushed forward this year by (the Washington State Legislature) were kind of I-5 corridor-centric." stated Crown, "While that is frustrating, I think that both of us will approach our presidencies from the same standpoint. We have to have a voice on the eastern side of the state as well."

WASPC was founded in 1963 and consists of executive and top management personnel from law enforcement agencies across the state, including the Washington State Patrol, Department of Corrections, and tribal and federal agencies.