Update for Oct. 19
In a followup to King County Sheriff Steve Strachan's announcement that he is hiring 14 deputies to cover unincorporated parts of King County, another update for Oct. 19 indicates it will result in additional coverage for southwest King County, including White Center.

Here is the announcement from KCSO Sgt. Cindi West:

King County Sheriff Steve Strachan announced last week that 14 new deputies will be hired over the course of the next few months to “beef up” patrol in unincorporated areas of the county.

Today Sheriff Strachan said he anticipates that some of the deputies will be assigned to unincorporated areas in the southwest part of the county which includes the White Center area.

“The southwest area has one of the highest volumes of calls in unincorporated King County,” said Sheriff Steve Strachan. “Adding more deputies will provide better service to our residents and increase safety for our deputies.” The Sheriff hopes to add at least 3 new deputies to this area as soon as they are ready for deployment.

“This is just what the public expects from its elected leaders – to deliver the services they need within the extremely limited revenues we have,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “By collaborating with his staff to create new efficiencies, the Sheriff is able to put more police on the street within his existing budget, and I thank him for that.”

The new deputies will be hired over the course of the next 3 months and will complete training and be assigned by the end of 2013.

Original post on Oct. 12
King County Sheriff Steve Strachan announced on Oct. 12 that he plans to hire 14 additional deputies from September to January, using money saved in their existing budget due to a new zoning model and a reduction in overtime hours.

It is unclear at this time where those deputies will be assigned, although KCSO Sgt. Cindi West said Southwest King County has the highest call loads and the Eastside has the largest geographical area to cover, so those are the most likely candidates. West said the “Southwest” region includes White Center, Burien and SeaTac, for example, so it could mean more KCSO coverage in those areas.

West said the new zoning model that moves on-the-clock deputies to different beats if the need arises has saved the department $600,000 in 2012. She estimated 8000 overtime hours at an average rate of $75 an hour were saved in relation to last year. West said an estimated additional $400,000 has also been saved in “backfill” overtime, and that money will go towards the funding of new positions.

Strachan made his announcement alongside King County Executive Dow Constantine and Councilmembers Joe McDermott (representing West Seattle and White Center) and Kathy Lambert.

“The key to our reform agenda is to engage employees in a process of continual improvement,” Constantine said in a statement. “I appreciate Sheriff Strachan and his staff – from patrol officers to command staff – for piloting a Lean project that cut the use of overtime, helped fill vacancies, and put more police on the street.”

“In the past we have had to maintain a large number of unfilled vacancies in order to save money for unforeseen events and to balance our budget,” Strachan said in the statement. “Because of the good work of our people at the front lines responsible for managing day to day budgets, we can fill some of those vacancies and put more cops on the street.”

Strachan said his department plans to add four officers in October, five in November and five in January.

In the upcoming Nov. 7 election, Strachan will go up against John Urquhart for King County’s top cop position.