Clark County Sheriff John Horch said 2025 was the sheriff’s office’s best year since he was elected sheriff in 2022.
Horch said in an interview with The Reflector that the sheriff’s office hired 23 deputies and 18 unsworn support staff in the calendar year. He noted there are two parts to staffing. The first is obtaining approval and funds for the positions. The second is the hiring and recruiting process. Despite both being struggles in recent years, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) is now down to under 10% in vacancies heading into 2026.
“Obviously, you have some turnover. You have different reasons, termination or retirement, but our staffing was getting better. But we were at an impasse,” Horch said. “I’ve gone to the council nine times in three years, and then in November they all voted to increase our staffing starting this year in 2026 by 22 enforcement deputies and four non-sworn for records and support. That’s the biggest increase we’ve had in 40 years. It does not get to exactly where we need to be, but it’s a great start.”
He added that the final vote will likely take place this month, and Horch anticipates the hiring process to begin in June or July.
While the additions to the department will lead to a built-up patrol staff on the front lines, Horch said one of the biggest benefits to curbing Clark County crime will be the ability to increase detective totals, the traffic unit and other specialty units.
Horch said patrol deputies can only investigate so much with the severity of many crimes.
He also updated that with the help of a local police academy, each class session, the sheriff’s office sends eight to 10 new hires. Previously, academy numbers from CCSO would be four or five new hires.
However, despite the success of increasing numbers, a challenge that remains is in the quality of applicants, Horch said.
“We get a lot of applicants and we’re getting laterals from around the country coming here, which is nice,” he said. “But a quality applicant, we can’t lower our standards, we’re getting a volume, but the quality of applicants over the last five years has kind of gone down a little bit, so we have to be very selective. We can’t lower that. So that’s probably our greatest challenge is still recruiting quality applicants.”
In 2026, the sheriff’s office is still without a much needed new facility to call their own.
“We’re in several different locations,” Horch said, adding that the facilities are far from ideal and are aged. “I’ve been pounding this. I know the council knows this. We still have to keep working on that.”
No matter how the sheriff’s office improves staffing and specialty unit personnel, and even being the only agency in the state of Washington to meet the Calea standards with its national accreditation, Horch said the fight against crime in Clark County will have to start in Olympia.
“People need to pay attention and talk to their local representatives,” he said. “There’s still people in Olympia that want to embolden criminals. It’s hard to believe that it’s still there even in 2026. But I go to Olympia quite a bit and I meet with our legislators down here, as well. Because those laws, they’re set. That’s the rules we have to play by …”
One proposal, Senate Bill 5312, aims to reduce the sex offender registration requirement for individuals convicted in operations involving fictitious minors — decoy accounts — to five years, if they have no prior sex offenses or kidnapping convictions.
“That does bother me,” Horch said of that bill proposal. “I’ve already talked to four of our local legislators about that already.”
