Performance audit of King County Sheriff's Office and Office of Law Enforcement Oversight

Significant issues with KCSO’s policies for investigating and documenting complaints, and inconsistent adherence to those policies among KCSO units undermine organizational and individual accountability. KCSO’s inability to enforce its procedures for complaints and policy violations was also inconsistent with the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) standards or best practices.

Significant challenges were also identified in implementing OLEO as an effective civilian oversight function under the current organizational and legal framework. For example, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)interpreting the King County and Police Guild collective bargaining agreement (CBA) contains a provision that allows for the termination of the OLEO Director as a possible remedy if the arbitrator rules that the director has violated any part of Article 22 —Civilian Oversight provisions of the CBA.

We recommend that KCSO develop more detailed policies that outline the exact investigation and reporting processes for all complaints. These processes should become the standard that are categorically adhered to by officers and supervisors. We also recommend that OLEO, in collaboration with KCSO, continue planning and developing working guidelines and measurable objectives to assure that the effectiveness and benefits of law enforcement oversight are maximized in King County.

This audit of the Sheriff’s Office Internal Investigations and Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) functions is the first in a series of annual audit reports mandated by the County Council in Ordinance 16511.Conducted in conjunction with a national law enforcement consulting firm, Hillard Heintze LLC, the purpose of this audit was to evaluate the current state of the Sheriff’s Office internal investigation operations and practices, and assess the effectiveness of OLEO in providing council-directed oversight of the IIU. The audit also included a review of national best practices for managing citizen-initiated and internally-generated police misconduct and use of force complaints.