Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Deputies will provide security starting Dec. 1
PASCO – Bailiffs serving in courtrooms in Franklin and Benton Counties will no longer be armed after Dec. 1.
Instead, deputies from their respective sheriff’s offices will provide armed security.
Franklin County Sheriff Jim D. Raymond announced the change last week, noting that since neither he nor Benton County Sheriff Tom Croskrey commissioned bailiffs, the courts decided to turn over responsibility to their counties’ law enforcement agencies.
For decades, bailiffs in both counties received special commissions from their county sheriffs, allowing them to carry firearms in courtrooms, Raymond said. But in recent years, bailiffs employed by the courts had failed to meet training and proficiency standards, which prompted him to revoke bailiff’s law enforcement commissions.
“After numerous attempts to get Superior Court to comply, including offering the training to them, I made the decision to revoke their commission in Franklin County,” Raymond said. “This decision was not made lightly, but it was necessary to mitigate risks to Franklin County until they were brought into compliance.”
Sheriff Croskey recently did the same.
In response, superior court judges in both counties decided they would no longer be responsible for security in their respective courtrooms, Raymond said, noting the sheriff’s offices will have to provide armed security.
“They judges are well within their authority to make this decision, and frankly, it is the right decision,” Raymond said.
With only a few days to adjust, Raymond said his office will have to “be creative” to balance the needs of the courts with rural law enforcement.
“One cannot be substituted for the other,” he said.
The change is not expected to change the arrangements the sheriff’s offices there have with Adams County.
The Benton and Franklin County jails routinely house inmates from Adams County, due to substandard jail conditions and repair needs in Ritzville.
Roger Harnack is owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. An award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher who grew up in Eastern Washington, he's one of only two Washington state journalists ever to receive the international Golden Quill for editorial/commentary writing. Roger is committed to preserving local media, and along with it, a local voice for Eastern Washington.
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