Record Group 121
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

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The Department of Public Safety was established by the King County Home Rule Charter in 1969 to take over functions that previously had been handled by the Office of the Sheriff. The County Sheriff (also known as the Sheriff-Director) served as the director of the Department of Public Safety and was no longer elected, but was appointed to the position by the County Executive. Initial responsibilities of the Department of Public Safety included law enforcement, jail administration and civil defense. In the early years of the department's existence, the Bureau of Police Operations was responsible for law enforcement functions, the Bureau of Corrections was responsible for all aspects of jail administration, while the Division of Emergency Services was responsible for coordinating local civil defense programs. The Bureau of Staff Services provided all support services to the department. After 1974, corrections no longer was included as a function of the Department of Public Safety. With the passage of ordinance 1872, county jail administration became one of the duties of the newly formed Department of Rehabilitative Services. By 1983 the Department of Public Safety was organized around three main divisions: the Criminal Investigation Division, which was responsible for detective work, the Field Operations Division, which was responsible for patrol and uniform services, and the Technical Services Division, which was responsible for a wide array of support services. Throughout its existence, the Department of Public Safety was commonly known as the King County Police Department; from the late 1970s on many departmental publications bear that title. In 1999 the Department of Public Safety was renamed the Sheriff's Office, and the Sheriff once again became an elected, rather than an appointed position.

SERIES DESCRIPTION
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121-344       Annual Reports 1963-1986
Reports on the activities of the Sheriff's Office and the Department of Public Safety, including statistical summaries of law enforcement activities. The reports for 1976-1980 are called the Annual Statistical Report; the reports for 1983-1986 are called Statistical Reports. These latter two sets of publications emphasize a straightforward presentation of crime statistics and do not contain the narrative accounts of departmental activities included in other editions of the annual reports.

Volume: 0.3 cu ft

Volume: 1 cu ft

Volume: 19 cu ft

The Division of Emergency Services (formerly the Civil Defense Division) was renamed in 1971. The joint City-County Emergency Services agreement, which had existed since 1958, was officially dissolved by the City of Seattle in January 1974. Several ordinances were passed in 1974 to appropriate operating funds to continue the functions of Emergency Services. Administration of the Division (which was called variously the Office of Emergency Services and the Emergency Services Division) became the responsibility of the County. By 1981 the Division was no longer a semi-autonomous section within the Department of Public Safety, but functioned as a unit of the Bureau of Police Operations. Responsibilities included coordinating emergency plans, K-9 response units, marine patrol, and search and rescue missions. Following a 1983 departmental reorganization, the Office of Emergency Services became a sub-unit of the Special Operations Sections, a unit of the Field Operations Division.

121.12-406       Manager's Files, 1972-1976
Correspondence, publications and organizational charts maintained by the manager of the Seattle-King County Department of Emergency Services. Shows reorganization of joint agency under King County Department of Public Safety.

Volume: 0.2 cu ft

The Seattle-King County Civil Defense Organization was established as a local organization for civil defense with the passage of Resolution 18025 by the County Commissioners in December 1957 and Ordinance 86765 by the City of Seattle. A special pooled fund, the Seattle-King County Civil Defense Fund, administered by King County, was created to cover the costs of operations. The City and County also agreed that each would contribute one-half of the cost and expense of the joint organization and operation. The joint agreement went into effect at the beginning of 1958. With the adoption of the charter in 1969, Civil Defense was placed directly under the control of the Department of Public Safety. The Office of Civil Defense (or Civil Defense Division) was supervised by a director and operated under various federal and state provisions and local administrative regulations. It was responsible for managing a full range of civil defense program activities including, fallout shelters; chemical, biological, and radiological warfare defense; emergency communications and warning systems; and preparedness planning. In 1971 the Civil Defense Division was renamed the Division of Emergency Services, becoming a functional unit of the Department of Public Safety, reporting directly to the Sheriff-Director.

121.13-409       Fallout Shelter Records, 1962-1968
Surveys and sketched floor plans, in public and residential buildings, for Seattle and King County residents in case of nuclear attack; summary reports of shelter availability and capacity. County copies of records prepared for or by federal and state civil defense agencies. Includes location, capacity, construction, and protection capability of each shelter site.

Volume: 5.3 cu ft

121.13-410       Films, 1962-1968
Motion pictures showing city-county search and rescue training and equipment, and aerial and waterborne operations near the Green and Snoqualmie rivers. Also includes three Federal training films on radioactive fallout and shelters.

Volume: 1 cu ft

Volume: 0.2 cu ft

The Technical Services Division had been established within the Department of Public Safety by 1983. It was responsible for providing all the support services for the Department of Public Safety. It also was responsible for providing public service in several areas, such as fulfilling public record disclosure requests and providing special licenses and permits. By 1990 the Division consisted of four sections to handle its increasingly numerous and varied functions: Communications Section, Auxiliary Services Section, Personnel, Training and Identification Section, and the Budget and Accounting Section.

Volume: 5.2 cu ft

Updated: August 14, 2003