San Juan County Sheriff's Office

San Juan County has more shoreline than any other county in Washington, so its sheriff's office polices both land and water. The office runs a state-certified boating program and uses three vessels for patrol, search and rescue, transporting people under arrest and other business between the islands, and its marine deputies complete a 40-hour Law Enforcement Boating Officers Course co-sponsored by the state Criminal Justice Training Center and Washington State Parks. From the historic county courthouse in Friday Harbor, a National Register of Historic Places landmark that also houses the courts, prosecutor and other county offices, the office provides armed security for every courtroom hearing and trial and screens all visitors. The same building holds the countywide 911 communications center, where 10 full-time dispatchers trained in King County EMS priority-dispatch protocols answer emergency and business calls and dispatch the sheriff's deputies, the San Juan Island, Orcas Island, Lopez Island and Shaw fire and rescue agencies, San Juan EMS and county emergency management; the center was recently renovated with new consoles and phone systems. Beyond Friday Harbor, the office has offices on Lopez Island and in Eastsound on Orcas Island.