Overview
District 7 under the command of Captain Dan Atchison, 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, in Skagit County. Together, these offices are responsible for over 790 miles of heavily traveled interstate and state routes. Additionally, District 7 houses a dispatch 911 call center, a vehicle inspection facility, crime laboratory, and the north region multi-agency bomb squad.
There are over 200 employees in District 7 assigned to traffic law enforcement, traffic investigations, narcotics investigations, homeland security, vehicle inspections, crime laboratory services, communications, electronic services, and other 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. It is also a destination area for many outdoor enthusiasts as it is home to Mount Baker and Stevens Pass recreational areas as well as the San Juan Islands and northern waters of Puget Sound.
Key Measurements and Statistics
In 2020, District 7 responded to a large variety of events which both challenged our employees and highlighted their competencies as leaders in the communities in which they work. Troopers responded to and investigated 49 fatality collisions, investigated and arrested 2,649 impaired drivers, contacted 3,224 distracted drivers, made 992 drug arrests, investigated 5,508 collisions overall, and assisted 52,891 stranded motorists.
Most proactive (traffic stops or self-initiated contacts) metrics are down for the 2020 year due to reduced activity as a direct result of COVID-19. Limiting personal contact was a strategic measure intended to reduce spread of the virus and increase public safety.
While impaired driving collisions vacillate significantly year to year, the general trend is downward over the last four years. What has not changed is that the highest rate of collisions continues to be between 11p.m. and 2 a.m.
Interstate collisions account for approximately 55 percent of collisions in District 7 (Figure 1) while the rest occur on State Routes. The Washington State Patrol routinely investigates collisions on city and county roads at the request of allied agencies.
Fridays and Wednesdays show the highest number of collisions in the district over the year while the 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. time frame continues to account for more collisions than any other period of time during the day (see figure 2). This is traditionally the time when most workers are returning home and congestion on the roadways is at its peak. The district adjusts staffing to accommodate these peak hours in order to respond to citizen calls for service.
One collision causing violation metric that is trending up is distracted driving. This violation has become a focus of efforts in the district and will be heavily emphasized in the 2021 calendar year.
Successes of 2020
District 7 successfully employed the use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) to push out critical information to the public warning them of road hazards, advising of safety precautions, and providing helpful information about traffic conditions. The messaging included information regarding road closures for landslides, snowfall, major collisions, and critical investigations. The messaging also included reminders to the public about motorcycle safety, winter driving safety, and much more. During the 2020 calendar year, troopers and the Rapid Deployment Force responded to numerous incidents throughout the state, and assisted many agencies in their pursuit to restore order and safety in their communities after critical incidents.
District 7 troopers are responsible for many life-saving actions that required instantaneous decision making and selfless service. Troopers saved people from attempted suicides on the State Route 20 Deception Pass Bridge on several occasions. Troopers also responded to numerous pedestrians and motorists in mental health crisis. Troopers intervened with life-saving naloxone spray for numerous individuals who were overdosing on opioids. District 7 troopers also received awards in 2020 for outstanding efforts towards impaired driving arrests, silver-alert contacts, Amber alert locates, missing person and runaway contacts, non-traffic criminal investigations, safety-restraint enforcement, aggressive driving apprehension, and much more.
The District 7 Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU) assisted other agencies with investigating vehicular homicides, officer-involved uses of deadly force, physical assaults, sexual assaults, vehicular assaults, other types of homicide, and much more. They are continually one of the busiest units in the state. Marysville CIU personnel were selected to be members of the Washington State Patrol’s first Independent Investigative Team. This team was formed to investigate the death of Mr. Manuel Ellis during his interaction with Tacoma Police Department Officers and Pierce County Deputies.
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 thousands of requests (over 2,500 videos and 2,560 other public records). These requests are very time consuming and sensitive, and require diligent work from our dedicated personnel.
The Communications Division in District 7 also had a busy year. They fielded over 36,832 emergency 911 calls, 64,319 CAD dispatches, processed more than 30,632 mobile computer initiated incidents, and took more than 114,254 administrative calls. That amount of incident processing is remarkable.
Lastly, District 7 mounted a substantive response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each potential case or exposure was vetted through the respective county’s health authority. Any troopers experiencing symptoms were advised to stay home, get tested, and quarantine. Personal protective equipment was provided to every employee and sanitization efforts were robust throughout the district. Employees falling within the Governor’s “non-essential” category were provided laptops, and permitted to telework from home so that they could continue to provide their valuable contributions. Efforts to care for employees and the public are an ongoing emphasis and will continue for the foreseeable future.