Joel Douglas: Birch Bay neighborhood deputy

Why did you become a law enforcement officer?

When I was 22 years old, I applied with Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office as a correctional deputy. I had an urge to serve the community, I wanted something fun and exciting. And I found law enforcement is fitting that fun, exciting and service.

Compared to other places you have worked, what makes Birch Bay unique?

My hand gets tired of waving because so many people are just happy and friendly there. That’s something that I didn’t experience as often within the City of Bellingham … One of the things I enjoy about being out there every day is that I’m able to be to kind of see the progress of whatever issue or concern that [residents] have, so they don’t have to talk to another deputy every time. I’m kind of their person, so I thoroughly enjoy being that investment.

There’s a big variety — there’s high-income homes and residences out there, and low-income folks and places where they live. So it brings a large variety of either problems to solve or community concerns that come through, largely property crime.

What does an average day look like for you patrolling Birch Bay?

My shift is four days a week and it’s 10-hour shifts … I drive out to Birch Bay and I normally just do my rounds … If I have some specific areas that are on my caseload, either high crime areas or extra patrol locations that the community has requested, I normally hit those first.

One of the main concerns that Birch Bay [residents] have continuously told me … there is frustration with speed, people speeding all the time. So I do a fair amount of speed enforcement in those zones. Birch Bay mile per hour zone is 25 all the way through … The education of getting folks to know that, OK, there is speed enforcement going on out here. You do need to slow down. It seems to be like a first-time message for a lot of folks. So I end up giving a fair amount of tickets per month — I probably [give] about 10 to 15, sometimes 10 to 20.

Does it get boring or lonely?

It’s a beautiful area, so that makes up for any loneliness or slow call volume. Normally during the winter months, it’s slower, there’s not as many visitors. The seasonal folks aren’t down there, so it’s just me and the permanent residents, and I’m able to keep busy just focusing on the projects and the community concerns that they told me.

Birch Bay has grown substantially in the last 15 years — the population is currently hovering above 11,000 and the town is still unincorporated. Do you feel overworked as the only regular law enforcement in the area?

I find that the caseload is manageable. I do know that any sort of 911 call or need for law enforcement response, I have the entirety of the sheriff’s office population or department to respond, right? I also have Blaine police that come help. So when I’m not there, or when it ends up being a large in-depth call, there are plenty of helping hands.

Of the folks that I talk to, they feel that Birch Bay is in a part of the county that is kind of set aside. So their concern mainly is just coverage. By me being highly visible and by me sending emails to my partners like, ‘Hey, they would appreciate extra patrol in the evening time,’ it just helps the visibility of law enforcement … They just want to know somebody’s there, and when I’m there, I want to make sure that I’m seen.