Overview
Government and Media Relations (GMR) serves two distinctive functions for the Office of the Chief: media relations and legislative liaison relations.
GMR is responsible for coordinating agency legislation with committees, legislators, and other state agencies. GMR also reviews and seeks input from interested stakeholders on agency legislation and answers policy questions for legislative constituents.
The office handles all statewide media relations for the agency and is the lead/primary point of contact for critical and major incidents. GMR provides assistance and training to district public information officers (PIOs), monitors news coverage, and updates the agency’s external website. Additional support services through GMR includes agency photo and video services, equipment and standards review, and oversight of all social media accounts.
Successes of 2019
During the 2019 legislative session, GMR tracked 242 bills to assess their potential impact to the Washington State Patrol.
GMR hired the agency’s first full-time tribal liaison, increasing state criminal justice protective and investigative resources for reporting and identifying missing Native American women in the state. This step was critical in formulating next steps to connect with the Native American communities, specifically in regards to the prevalent issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) in our state.
GMR held legislative tours at the Seattle Crime Lab, Training Division, and Fire Training Academy. GMR also conducted a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)- certified Public Information Officer Course in which more than 30 officers around the state were trained in effective communications strategies, specifically in media-centered events.
Over the course of the year, GMR completed 195 photo projects and 46 video projects for the agency and the governor’s office.