Will Reichardt has spent his entire law enforcement career working for the citizens of Skagit County. As he has worked his way up through the ranks to his current post as Chief Criminal Deputy he has been an effective leader in each position. Will has always tried to do more then was asked of him in every job he takes on.

Corrections Deputy, 1984-1986
As a deputy in the jail Will was responsible for the routine care and custody of inmates. However Will chose to take on additional duties and was one of three deputies who helped set up and implement the first inmate work release program involving the Skagit County Jail. This program has continued to evolve and is now an integral part of the jail alternatives program we have today.

Patrol Deputy, 1987-1991
As a patrol deputy Will was responsible for all of the routine work expected of a fully commissioned Skagit County deputy. Will worked hard and in 1989 and 1990 he led the entire patrol division in number of arrests, and was one of the top deputies for the number of calls handled. Will also took on additional duties and along with two other deputies helped implement the first grant funded, law enforcement boat patrol in Skagit County. This program has evolved and is still in place today. Will was also an integral part in the implementation of the then, new, "San Jose" model Field Training Officer program that was used to train new deputies.

Detective, 1992-1996
Upon promotion to the investigations unit, it was Will's responsibility to work with 5 other detectives on the most serious criminal cases. During his time in investigations he investigated several homicides and serious assaults to a successful conclusion. As a detective Will led the entire unit in the number of arrests and the number of cases cleared every year he was there. Will also assisted in the formation of the original multi-agency major crime team that involved Mount Vernon P.D., Washington State Patrol and others. In addition Will and another detective worked in collaboration with a deputy prosecutor, private counselors, mental health professionals and medical personnel to form the original Skagit County Sexual Assault Unit. This unit helped move Skagit County into one of the foremost county teams for the investigation of child sexual assaults.

Patrol Sergeant, 1997-1999
As a patrol sergeant Will was responsible for the supervision of a 5 deputy patrol squad tasked with the routine duties of a SCSO patrol deputy. Under Will's leadership his squad cumulatively led the entire patrol division in number of arrests each year. In addition his squad was also one of the leaders in traffic enforcement. One of Will's ancilary duties was supervision of the boat patrol unit he had helped develop earlier in his career and during this time he implemented a comprehensive lake patrol protocol that was able to track boater contacts from year to year. This assisted deputies in being more consistent in enforcement of the boating regulations. Also through sound fiscal management he was able to upgrade the SCSO fleet, utilizing State boat registration money, by adding a new river boat and a Safe boat that are still stalwarts of the SCSO boat program today.

Traffic Sergeant, 2000-2001
Under Will's supervision of the traffic unit he continued to expand this growing division. Will obtained a grant that greatly increased the number of radar units available to deputies at no cost to Skagit County funds. In addition, Will obtained a grant to obtain child restraint seats that were distributed during "safety fairs" sponsored by the Skagit County Traffic Safety Team. It was Will's dedication to this unit which located a used bus that was sorely needed. Will was able to facilitate the "purchase" of this bus for one dollar and the Traffic Safety Team still makes good use of that bus today. It was also while he was traffic sergeant that Will volunteered to take on the additional duties of doing the pre-employment background investigations for prospective future deputies. This included making recommendations to the Sheriff on hiring decisions. This was an important task normally done by SCSO administrative personnel but was entrusted to Will based in part on the Sheriff's faith in Will's good judgement and attention to detail.

Patrol Chief, 2002
In 2002 Will was promoted to Chief of Field Services by former Sheriff Ed Goodman. During his short time in this assignment Will supervised the single largest division at the Sheriff's Office. He oversaw the patrol and traffic division of approximately 40 uniformed deputies and sergeants as well as the management of the specialized units of SWAT, K-9, Boats and Search and Rescue. It was also during this tenure that Will attended the National FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. While there Will worked and trained with 250 other law enforcement professionals from all 50 states and 17 different foreign countries.

Commander, Skagit County Inter-Local Drug Enforcement Unit, 2007 to present
The drug task force is asked to work in a covert manner on mid and upper echelon drug investigations. As Commander, Will directs and coordinates these investigations through a Washington State Patrol sergeant who is assigned to the unit. This unit works closely with a Skagit County deputy prosecutor who is assigned to prosecute drug offenses. SCIDEU is comprised of detectives from the Sheriff's Office, Anacortes, Mount Vernon and Burlington PD's, as well as the U.S. Border Patrol and the Washington State National Guard. Under Will's leadership SCIDEU has made a number of high profile cases involving the removal of literally hundreds of pounds of illegal narcotics from Skagit County streets and the seizure of approximately $500,000 in cash and assets from drug dealers. The drug task force is funded partially by a $250,000 federal grant that Will works to obtain every year.

Chief Criminal Deputy, 2003 to present
For the past 8 years Will has served the citizens of Skagit County as Chief Criminal Deputy. In this position Will is responsible for supervision of the investigations division, evidence unit, internal affairs investigations and is the primary public information officer. Under Will's leadership as Chief Deputy a number of effective projects and policies have been implemented to insure a comprehensive and efficient approach to crime.

Registered Sex Offenders
Established a sex offender coordinator position in order to more effectively track registered sex offenders throughout Skagit County. This position is entirely grant funded and works closely with the prosecutors office and other law enforcement agencies in the region to insure that all known offenders are appropriately monitored.

Animal Control
Expanded the role of our animal control officer to include comprehensive investigations of puppy mills, cock fighting rings and other detailed cases. These are cases that were typically handled by a detective and are now routinely investigated by a trained animal control officer. The ACO still works closely with detectives in the investigations unit on these sometimes complicated and labor intensive cases.

Case Management
Lead a comprehensive re-structuring of the detectives case management protocol in order to more efficiently track and monitor investigations and provide better service to the public.

Evidence Technicians
Expanded the role of our evidence custodians. Evidence personnel have now been trained as technicians who are able to provide technical assistance at major crime scenes which allows detectives to be more expeditious in addressing other aspects of an investigation.

Child Abduction Response Team
Supervised and supported a detective in the formation of a newly formed Child Abduction Response Team (CART) which when completed will incorporate participation from multiple law enforcement agencies as well as juvenile authorities, parole and probation officers, search personnel and those trained in child advocacy issues. When functioning the Skagit CART will be one of the few certified CART teams in the State of Washington. This team will help make Skagit children and vulnerable adults safer in cases of abduction.

Confidential Informants
Created and implemented the current method of tracking and utilizing confidential informants at the Sheriff's Office in an effort to develop information to solve crime. Organization of this information was critical in establishing the use of informants that could stand up to the scrutiny of the courts. Also implemented the limited practice of using paid confidential informants for the first time in the Skagit County Drug Task Force. This has resulted in obtaining valuable information that previously may not have been available.

Comprehensive Planning Document
Supervised and supported personnel who worked tirelessly to develop and implement a 3, 5 and 10 year plan for the continued development of the Sheriff's Office. This plan is a living document that helps provide a blue print and vision for the short and long term future of the Sheriff's Office.

Skagit County Gang Prevention and Intervention Team
Is a part of the Skagit County Gang Prevention and Intervention Team (SKAGPIT) which is made up of law enforcement professionals, school administrators and juvenile authorities who come together on a regular basis to work on a collaborative and unified approach to address the gang issues in Skagit County. SKAGPIT works closely with gang officers from Mount Vernon, Burlington, the Sheriff's Office and Sedro Woolley to share information and support our unified mission of eradication and disruption of gangs.

Work Schedules
Was a primary negotiator in the implementation of the patrol deputies current 10 hour work schedule which has resulted in less overtime wages paid and increased valuable training hours for patrol. This schedule has allowed deputies to become some of the best trained law enforcement officers in the area, with each deputy averaging approximately 100 hours of training per year at a time when the industry standard is significantly less then that.

Sexual Assault Unit
Supervised and supported the integration of the sex crimes detective into becoming an essential part of the Child Protection Team (CPT) which allows the detective to staff serious sexual assault and child neglect cases with counterparts from Child Protective Services. This allows for partnerships and trust to be built between both agencies and ultimately better and more comprehensive investigations for child victims.

Internal Affairs
Expanded the current internal affairs unit to include the investigation of all internal jail issues as well as patrol. This has provided more consistancy in employee discipline when that becomes necessary. As a result in the past 8 years not a single discipline issue has been overturned by an arbitrator. A well run internal affairs unit is critical in maintaining public trust as well as keeping the respect of the employees within the office.

Neighborhood Watch
Has expanded the use of community neighborhood watches to include monthly reports to some of the outlying communities in Skagit County. This has allowed those citizens to become more aware of the crime in their areas and consequently gives them the opportunity to be more pro-active in their vigilance. This continues to be a work in progress with plans to expand into other remote communities.

Stalking Protocol
Supported and supervised the development of a new "stalking" protocol by a detective in the investigations unit. This protocol that was developed in partnership with the prosecutors office and crime advocates has been adopted by all Skagit County law enforcement agencies and has become a well used template for other stalking protocols, by other agencies across the state.

Homeland Security
Supported and supervised one of the investigators in obtaining a half million dollar grant for the purchase of a new patrol vessel with firefighting capabilities. Helped facilitate and negotiate with the Anacortes Police Department for the boat to be moored in town. This will allow for optimum response time to critical infrastructure, such as State and County ferry terminals or the oil refineries, as the need arises to address homeland security concerns.

Domestic Violence
Helped create the "domestic violence liasion" position within the investigations unit which made working complicated domestic violence cases more efficient when working collaboratively with the Skagit County prosecutors office. This position became part of the Skagit County Domestic Violence Response Team which was able to obtain grant money for the purchase of cameras to document assault injuries. This team also particpated in joint team trainings in an effort to provide a comprehensive approach to domestic violence investigations.

East Detachment
Instituted the position of a full time detective assigned to the eastern part of Skagit County. This position was designed to augment our presence in eastern Skagit County as well as allow the investigator the opportunity to work more closely with a community that appreciates a more personal approach to some investigations and may be more willing to provide information about ongoing criminal activity. This position was successful but unfortunately due to current budget cuts the position has been temporarily suspended.

This is just a partial list of Will Reichardt's accomplishments over the past 26 years he has served with the Skagit County Sheriff's Office. Will's dedication to the citizens of Skagit County continues on every day.

"Although I am proud of past accomplishments I am focused on the future. I would also be remiss in not acknowleding that little could have been accomplished without the support and hard work of those fellow deputies who shared a common vision of superior service to the citizens of Skagit County."