WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE (WDFW ...

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Unbecoming Conduct Closed Complaint Type Comparison Truthfulness Use of State Resources Excessive Force Intimidation Courtesy Harassment 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Number of Occurrences 2005 2006 2007 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 24 9 14 Unfounded/Not Sustained Complaints Closed Officer Complaints WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE •ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM• 2007 Annual Report 32 of 34 9 4 The Enforcement Program accepts verbal or written complaints against any of its employees. An Enforcement Program employee who receives a complaint is required to record the reporting party’s name, phone number and name of the employee involved and attempt to immediately refer the reporting party to the employee’s immediate supervisor. If a supervisor is not available, the employee is asked to courteously and promptly record as much about the complaint as possible. The complaint is forwarded to the employee’s supervisor or next level supervisor. Complaints of misconduct against the Program or Department are forwarded to the Deputy Chief and Chief for review. Citizen complaints against offi cers in the Enforcement Program were up in 2007: 18 compared to 14 in 2006, an increase of 28.6%. Issues regarding Unbecoming Conduct were the most frequent type of complaint in 2007. 4 0 1 Sustained Undetermined Total Complaints Disposition 2005 2006 2007 0 33 14 18
Customer Satisfaction Survey Enforcement Program Citizen Survey Methodology In August 2006, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Enforcement Program began to devise a citizen survey to meet the requirements of a Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) standard. The standard requires that agencies seeking accreditation must conduct a citizen survey at least once every three years. The on-line survey became active on May 24, 2007, and it was available for completion until December 31, 2007. During that time, we received 2673 responses. Persons interested in completing the survey on paper were mailed a copy at their request. The results of this survey will become a baseline for future surveys. Major Findings • Demographics. Most respondents recreate by fi shing, hunting, visiting wildlife, or harvesting shellfi sh. The respondents recreating are primarily made up of 40 to 70 year old residents of Washington State who have lived in WA for at least twenty years and have hunted and fi shed for over ten years. The top fi ve counties most frequented are King, Snohomish, Pierce, Grays Harbor, and Cowlitz counties. • Contact Information. Out of 2673 respondents, 62% had recent contact with Enforcement Program staff. Overall, 85% of the respondents viewed their contact with WDFW employees between Neutral to Very Pleasant. Offi cers made up the majority of contacts at 77%, compared to 15% Hunter Education staff, and 8% being Customer Service employees. Assisting citizens made up 23% of Offi cer contacts, while only 5% of contacts resulted in citations. • Personal Contact Evaluation. In regards to Offi cer knowledge and job competence, as well as attitude, 70% of the respondents gave ratings of Good or Excellent. In regards to demeanor, Offi cers received a 68% rating of Good or Excellent. Appearance resulted in 78% respondents giving offi cers a Good or Excellent review. • Offi cer Staffi ng Levels. While recreating in Washington, 10% of respondents witnessed Offi cers on patrol Often or Always. In contrast, 27% of participants witnessed violations Often or Always. Moreover, 65% of survey respondents would like to see more Offi cers on patrol and believe that more offi cers are most needed in Western Washington, followed by Eastern Washington. Enforcing Recreational Fisheries, Hunting/ Trapping, Commercial Fisheries Rules and Laws as well as conducting Public Education and Responding to Dangerous Wildlife Complaints have been shown to be the most important priorities of the Enforcement Program. Overall, 64% of the respondents believe that there needs to be more Offi cer presence statewide and 58% more presence in their most frequently visited county. • Overall Evaluation. Only 22% of the respondents believe that the Enforcement Program is at least doing a Good job of protecting wildlife resources while 33% of the respondents believe that the program is doing a Poor or Very Poor job. In regards to protecting fi sh/shellfi sh resources, the Enforcement Program had 12% rating of Good or better and a 37% rating of doing a Poor job or worse. For protecting public safety, 30% believed that the Enforcement Program is doing a Good or better job while 24% think the Program is doing a Poor or Very Poor job. Lastly, 32% of the respondents believe that the Enforcement Program is doing a Good or Excellent job as a law-enforcement agency, while 24% believed that the agency is doing a Poor or Very Poor job. WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE •ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM• 33 of 34 2007 Annual Report
Page 1: WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND W
Page 4 and 5: Introduction This report acknowledg
Page 6 and 7: Activity Activity 40000 35000 30000
Page 8 and 9: Special Investigations Unit Ed Volz
Page 10 and 11: Recently-Enacted Legislation Engros
Page 12 and 13: Dangerous Wildlife Complaints Compl
Page 14 and 15: Year Bear Complaints 500 400 300 20
Page 16 and 17: The Hunter Education Division condu
Page 18 and 19: Challenges Region 1 - Spokane Moose
Page 20 and 21: Challenges Severe Staffi ng Shortag
Page 22 and 23: Challenges Department Owned/Control
Page 24 and 25: Challenges Region 4 - Mill Creek Fi
Page 26 and 27: Region Five Offi cer of the Year: T
Page 28 and 29: Region Six Offi cer of the Year: Ph
Page 30 and 31: Enforcement Activity 8000 7000 6000
Page 32 and 33: Signifi cant Cases Statewide Marine
Page 36 and 37: Customer Satisfaction Survey Protec
Page 38: Enforcement Program 2007 Yearly Pla

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