Skip to content Skip to footer

2019 Annual Report: District 7

Troopers investigate a head-on collision on State Route 2.

Trooper Dave Martin in a mock-fatal collision scene at South Whidbey High School.

Overview

District 7 is situated in the northwest corner of Washington with headquarters located in Marysville.  The district provides service in Island, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom Counties.  Detachment offices are located in Bellingham, Burlington, Monroe, Oak Harbor, and Silverlake.  In addition, a port of entry for commercial vehicles is located southbound on Interstate 5 at Bow Hill.  Together, these offices are responsible for over 790 miles of heavily traveled interstates and state routes.

There are over 200 employees assigned to traffic law enforcement, traffic investigations, narcotics investigations, Homeland Security Division, vehicle inspections, crime laboratory, communications, electronic services, and support services.  The district serves as a major gateway into British Columbia, Canada, through Interstate 5, and Bellingham is the southernmost terminal for the Alaska Marine Highway System.

Key Measurements and Statistics

In 2019, District 7 responded to a large variety of events which challenged our employees, and highlighted their competencies as leaders in the communities in which they work.  Troopers responded to and investigated 51 fatality collisions, investigated and arrested 3,493 impaired drivers, contacted 4,679 distracted drivers, made 1,133 drug arrests, investigated 7,627 collisions overall, and assisted 53,923 stranded motorists.

Interstate collisions account for approximately 62 percent of collisions in District 7 while the rest occur on State Routes. The Washington State Patrol is asked to investigate collisions on city and county roads frequently, but they do so as an assistance to the allied agencies and as a force-multiplier.

Counties in District 7 have experienced a five percent increase in population which puts increased strain on the limitations of roadways, which are frequently over-extended with respect to traffic capacity.

One metric that is trending up, with respect to collision-causing violations is distracted driving.  This violation has become a focus of efforts in the district and is going to be more heavily emphasized in the 2020 calendar year.

Successes of 2019

The district successfully employed the use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) to push out critical data to the public warning them of road hazards, safety precautions, and helpful information on traffic conditions.  These included road closures for landslides, snow fall, major collisions, critical investigations, reminders to the public, motorcycle safety, and more.

District 7 provided awards to troopers and officers from allied agencies for life-saving actions, which required instantaneous reactions and selfless service.  Troopers saved people from attempted suicides on Deception Pass Bridge on several occasions.  Troopers responded to over 110 suicidal pedestrian subjects, in addition, to over 140 subjects positioned on bridges or overpasses threatening the same.  We had 10 occurrences where troopers encountered individuals who were overdosing on opioids. Troopers administering Naloxone saved them from imminent peril.  Troopers were given awards for outstanding performance in impaired driving arrests, silver-alert contacts, missing person & runaway contacts, drug investigations, safety-restraint enforcement, aggressive driving apprehension, and much more.

District 7 responded to the highest number of public disclosure requests in the entire state.  Over the course of the year, the district’s public disclosure employees fielded over 5,400 requests (2,665 videos and 2,781 public records).  These requests are very time-consuming and sensitive which requires diligent work from our dedicated personnel.

Additional Information and Resources:

For more information on how the Washington State Patrol in District 7 responds to citizen calls for service or other items of interest, please click here.


 

Contact us

Mailing Address
Washington State Patrol
PO Box 42600
Olympia, WA 98504

Physical Address
Washington State Patrol
Helen Sommers Building
106 11th Avenue SW
Olympia, WA 98501

Wsp accessibility

The Washington State Patrol is firmly committed to providing an environment that provides the public fair and equal treatment and equal access to its benefits, programs and services as required by state and federal laws. If you require reasonable accommodation under the American with Disabilities Act, or would like to file a grievance please click on the following link:  WSP Public Accessibility and Grievance Process

Follow us

© 2025 Washington State Patrol.