Criminal Justice Training Commission.

The Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) establishes the standards and process to certify peace officers and other law enforcement personnel.  It also provides training and educational programs, including the Basic Law Enforcement Academy and specialized training. 

Law Enforcement Personnel and Peace Officers.

Law enforcement personnel include any general authority peace officers.  A general authority peace officer is a fully compensated and elected, appointed, or employed officer of a general authority Washington law enforcement agency who is commissioned to enforce state criminal laws generally.  For CJTC purposes, a peace officer has the same meaning as a general authority peace officer and includes Washington State Patrol (WSP) commissioned officers and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers with enforcement powers for criminal laws.  Limited authority Washington peace officers, who have powers of arrest and carry a firearm as part of their normal duty, are peace officers for purposes of the CJTC chapter.  A reserve officer is not employed regularly as a peace officer, but may be called by an agency into active service to enforce criminal laws. 

Police Chiefs and Marshals.

A city or town may provide law enforcement protection in a number of different ways.  The most common way is to establish a municipal police department under the direction of a locally appointed police chief or marshal. 

To be eligible for appointment as chief of police or marshal of a city or town with a population of more than 1,000, a person must:

• be a United States citizen;
• have a high school diploma or equivalent certificate;
• have not been convicted of a felony;
• have not been convicted of a gross misdemeanor or crime involving moral turpitude within five years of application;
• have received at least a general discharge under honorable conditions for any military service;
• have at least two years of regular, full-time commissioned law enforcement employment with a government law enforcement agency; and
• have obtained peace officer certification. 

A person seeking appointment as chief of police or marshal of a city or town with a population of 1,000 or less must meet the same eligibility requirements, except that person is not required to have at least two years of regular, full-time commissioned law enforcement employment, and has nine months to complete the state's basic training requirement or equivalency after appointment.

Prior to appointment as chief of police or marshal, the appointing agency must complete a background investigation of the candidate.

The police department in a second-class city, which has a population of over 1,500 at the time of organization or reorganization, is under the direction of the police chief.  In such cities, the police chief may require aid from citizens for the arrest of persons and maintenance of public order.

A town police department is under the direction of the marshal.  The marshal may appoint additional police officers for one day when necessary for the preservation of public order.

Sheriffs.

The sheriff is the chief executive officer and conservator of the peace of the county.  Elected sheriffs must complete a basic law enforcement training program which complies with the CJTC's standards within 12 months of assuming office. 

The duties of the sheriff and the sheriff's deputies are to:

• arrest and commit to prison all persons who break or attempt to break the peace, and all persons guilty of public offenses;
• defend the county against those who, by riot or otherwise, endanger the public peace or safety;
• execute the process and orders of the courts of justice or judicial officers;
• execute all warrants delivered for that purpose by other public officers, when delivered for that purpose;
• attend the sessions of the courts of record held within the county, and obey their lawful orders or directions;
• keep and preserve the peace in their respective counties, and quiet and suppress all affrays, riots, unlawful assemblies, and insurrections; and
• make complaint of all criminal law violations, which come to their knowledge, within their respective jurisdictions.

In keeping the peace, in the service of process, and in apprehending or securing persons, sheriffs and their deputies may call to their aid such persons or power of their county as they deem necessary.

Background Investigations for Officers.

Any peace officer, reserve officer, or corrections officer applicant who has a conditional employment offer must submit to a background investigation.  The background investigation must include: 

• a criminal history and misconduct check;
• an inquiry with local prosecutors regarding impeachment disclosure;
• an inquiry into affiliation with extremist organizations;
• a review of social media accounts; 
• a verification of citizenship, lawful permanent resident status, or whether the person is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient;
• a psychological examination; and
• a polygraph or similar assessment. 

Employing agencies must verify in writing to the CJTC that they have complied with all background investigation requirements prior to making any nonconditional offer of employment.

Police Chiefs and Marshals.

Eligibility criteria for appointment as chief of police or marshal are modified, so that the same eligibility requirements apply for any city or town regardless of size or class, and the person must meet the requirements to maintain eligibility while serving in their appointed position.  New or amended criteria for appointment as chief of police or marshal provide that the person must:

• be age 25 or older;
• have not been convicted under foreign law of the equivalent to a felony;
• have not been convicted of a gross misdemeanor in the United States or the equivalent under foreign law at any time, rather than a crime involving moral turpitude within five years of application;
• have not engaged in conduct meeting the criteria requiring denial or revocation of certification;
• have at least five years of regular, full-time law enforcement agency employment with a government law enforcement agency, rather than two years of full-time commissioned law enforcement employment;
• have obtained certification within nine months of assuming office, unless extended by the CJTC, and maintained certification; and
• if not certified, have met the CJTC background investigation requirements for peace officers, and if certified, have met background investigation requirements, within six months prior to the date of appointment, confirming that the person meets the eligibility requirements and suitability standards. 

Eligibility criteria regarding discharge from military service, a high school diploma or equivalent certificate, and citizenship are unchanged.

The appointing authority is responsible for any fees associated with the background investigation to confirm that the person is eligible and meets the required standards.  Before making an appointment of chief of police or marshal, the appointing authority must attest that the eligibility requirements have been met, and that the person passed the background investigation. 

Persons currently serving as police chief or marshal at the time of the act's effective date are not required to meet background investigation and minimum age requirements unless they seek appointment to a different office.  All other eligibility requirements apply.

The appointment of the chief of police or marshal is terminated, and a vacancy created, if the appointee does not maintain certification, is decertified, or other eligibility requirements are not maintained.  If there is a vacancy, the city or town appointing authority must appoint a replacement.  The person appointed to fill the vacancy must meet the eligibility requirements. 

Sheriffs.

Eligibility Requirements for Election or Appointment.

A person filing for candidacy for the office of sheriff, or seeking appointment to the same, must meet the same eligibility requirements for appointment as chief of police or marshal.  As with eligibility for appointment as chief of police or marshal, a person seeking to hold or holding the office of sheriff  must obtain certification within nine months of assuming office, unless extended by the CJTC, and maintain certification while in office.  If the person seeking election or appointment as sheriff does not have officer certification, prior to the election filing deadline, within 30 days after the election is certified, or at the time of appointment, the person must satisfy background investigation requirements for certification.  If certified, the person must complete a background investigation confirming that the person meets the eligibility requirements for the office of sheriff either prior to the election filing deadline, within 30 days after the election is certified, or at the time of appointment. 

The WSP must conduct the background investigation.  The person filing for candidacy must submit a background investigation request to the WSP within six months of, and up to, the filing deadline.  Once the background investigation is completed, the WSP must submit verification to the CJTC that the person meets or does not meet eligibility criteria and has or has not passed the background investigation.  The WSP must notify the candidate or elected person. 

The CJTC must post on its website a list of candidates for sheriff who have:  (1) submitted the request for a background investigation; and (2) passed the required background investigation.  The WSP must develop and provide on its website by October 1, 2026, a standard form and process for persons filing for candidacy for sheriff to use in requesting the background investigation. 

In the case of appointment, the required background investigation must be completed by the appointing authority no earlier than six months prior to the date of appointment.  The appointing authority must submit verification to the CJTC that the person meets the eligibility criteria and has passed the background investigation. 

The county in which a person is seeking appointment or election as sheriff is responsible for any costs associated with the background investigation.  The county must reimburse the WSP for costs associated with the background investigation it conducts for any person seeking election as sheriff.  The appointing authority is responsible for all costs associated with the background investigation it conducts for any person being appointed as sheriff in that county. 

Persons seeking election or appointment as sheriff must provide a sworn statement under penalty of perjury to the WSP or to the appointing authority stating that they meet the eligibility requirements, and the WSP, upon completion of the background investigation, or appointing authority must attest as part of the public record that the requirements have been met. 

Within 60 days after the election, the CJTC must post on its website a list of sheriffs who have completed the background investigation, and whether each passed or failed.

Persons holding the office of sheriff at the time of the act's effective date are not required to meet background investigation and minimum age requirements unless they seek election or appointment to a different office.  All other eligibility requirements apply. 

A vacancy in the office of sheriff is created if the incumbent does not maintain certification, is decertified, or other eligibility requirements are not maintained.  The county legislative authority must appoint a replacement for a vacancy in an elective office or an appointed position.  The person appointed to fill the vacancy must meet the eligibility requirements.  

Duties.

In addition to other current duties of sheriffs and sheriff's deputies that remain unchanged, a new duty is added, requiring the sheriff and the sheriff's deputies to uphold and enforce the Washington Constitution and laws, as interpreted and applied by the state Supreme Court, and uphold the United States Constitution.  Other current duties are amended, so that sheriffs and sheriff's deputies:

• are authorized to address all violations of the law and arrest persons who break the law;
• must obey lawful judicial orders or directions; and
• must keep and preserve the peace and, in doing so, are authorized to work in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies pursuant to the Washington Mutual Aid Peace Officers Powers Act.

The sheriff and the sheriff's deputies may call to their aid volunteers and youth cadets, rather than persons or power of their county as they deem necessary.  Persons deputed by the sheriff in writing to conduct service of process are limited to functions and actions that do not involve the use of law enforcement authority or carrying of firearms or other weapons unless certified as peace officers.

Volunteers, Youth Cadets, and Specially Commissioned Officers.

"Youth cadets" are defined as participants in law enforcement agency training programs for careers in law enforcement. 

Law enforcement agencies that use volunteers or youth cadets to assist in their work may not authorize them, unless they are certified, to:

• enforce criminal laws or civil immigration laws;
• engage in pursuits;
• detain or arrest;
• use force;
• carry or use firearms or other weapons;
• use surveillance technologies; 
• share information from law enforcement databases; or
• use dogs to track people or animals, or to apprehend or bite people or animals.

Volunteers may be authorized to:

• use dogs to assist with search and rescue, including assisting with canine human remains detection, cadaver search, evidence search, or other search-oriented support of a law enforcement investigation; or
• assist with roles including technical and administrative support, bicycle recovery, community crime prevention coordination, vehicle maintenance, serving as faith leaders, transport, parking enforcement and traffic management, parks and recreation assistance, animal control and caring for domestic animals, and other public safety-related community service, education, and outreach work. 

Agency policies must:

• include limitations on the authority of, and permissible roles and required supervision for, volunteers and youth cadets;
• include limitations on the authority of, and requirements for, specially commissioned officers, including requirements that specially commissioned officers must be supervised by the law enforcement agency that commissioned them, other than when supervision has been lawfully delegated to another agency; 
• require appropriate training for any firearms or other weapons that specially commissioned officers or youth cadets are authorized to use;
• require that volunteers, youth cadets, and specially commissioned officers be clearly identifiable by the public as such, distinguishable from peace officers, and limit the use of face coverings consistent with state law requirements for law enforcement. 

Sheriffs, police chiefs, and marshals must only provide badges or other identifying insignia to volunteers, youth cadets, and specially commissioned officers that are authorized in agency policy; such identification may only be used by volunteers, youth cadets, and specially commissioned officers while they are on duty in their authorized roles.  By January 1, 2027, any city or town that uses volunteers, youth cadets, or specially commissioned officers must adopt or amend its laws and ordinances to comply with these requirements.

Criminal Justice Training Commission.

The CJTC must prioritize the access of sheriffs, police chiefs, and marshals to any CJTC training required for certification.  Appointing authorities, in addition to employing agencies, may only make conditional offers of employment pending completion of required background investigations.  The required background investigation for all peace officers, reserve officers, and corrections officers must be completed within six months prior to the offer of employment.  Language providing that an employing law enforcement agency may require a person to pay for a psychological examination, polygraph, or similar test, is removed. 

Law enforcement or correctional agencies that previously employed or received a person's application must disclose employment or application information within 30 days of receiving a written request from the employing agency conducting a background investigation.  This disclosure must include any information regarding the person's application to that agency, and other information obtained during the background investigation, in addition to the reason for the officer's separation from the agency.  Officers must indicate any prior application materials and background investigations conducted while seeking employment with other law enforcement agencies, including where the applicant began but did not complete a full background investigation.  Persons applying to law enforcement agencies for office or employment must authorize each prior agency to which the applicant has applied to release information relating to the person's application for employment, in addition to authorizing each prior employer to release information relating to the person's employment.

Persons determined by the background investigation to have engaged in conduct categorized as mandatory decertification criteria must be considered unsuitable for employment as a peace officer. 

All files, papers, and other information obtained as part of the background investigation are confidential and exempt from public disclosure.  The verification by the CJTC that the background investigation has been completed and whether it has been passed or failed is a public record.  The CJTC must retain background investigation files it receives.  An officer's records, kept by the CJTC, which are otherwise confidential and exempt from public disclosure, may be reviewed and copied by the officer or the officer's counsel or authorized representative only after the officer has been served with a statement of charges for certification denial, suspension, or revocation.  

Every individual, legal entity, and federal, state, or local government agency is immune from civil liability for providing information in good faith to the CJTC, employing agencies, potential employing agencies, or appointing authorities. 

Any officer who is required to obtain and maintain certification and who has had their certification denied, revoked, or voluntarily surrendered and not reinstated in this state or any other state may not serve in any role as a peace officer, corrections officer, limited authority Washington peace officer, specially commissioned officer, or reserve officer. 

Police Matrons.

The chapter relating to police matrons is repealed.