Editing Whatcom County, Washington (section)

===Law enforcement===
[[File:Whatcom County Sheriff- 2015 Chevy Tahoe (17217160492).jpg|thumb|left|A Whatcom County Sheriff's office vehicle pictured in 2015]]

The [[Whatcom County Sheriff's Office]] is responsible for maintaining the [[county jail]], providing security at the Whatcom County Superior Court, serving civil processes, coordinating [[civil defense|emergency management]] among the county's emergency services, and maintaining law and order in rural areas.<ref name="whatcom">{{Cite web |title=Whatcom County Sheriff's Office |url=http://www.whatcomcounty.us/200/Sheriff |access-date=September 17, 2016 |website=Whatcom County Official Website}}</ref><ref name="charter" />

The first sheriff was Ellis "Yankee" Barnes who was sworn into office in 1854, during a period in which the border between the United States and [[British Columbia]] along Whatcom County had not been fully delineated. That year, Barnes seized and auctioned 34 rams that belonged to Canadian farmer Charles Griffin for Griffin's failure to pay United States taxes. The event was one of several provocations that led to the [[Pig War (1859)|Pig War]] between the United States and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tower |first=Elizabeth |title=Over The Back Fence |date=2016 |publisher=Publication Consultants |isbn=978-1594332852}}</ref>

In 1863 James Kavanaugh served as sheriff. Kavanaugh, who married Princess Tol Sol of the [[Swinomish people|Swinomish]] tribe, had previously served as the first [[United States Marshal]] in the [[Pacific Northwest]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 18, 2009 |title=Back in the day in Anacortes |url=http://www.goskagit.com/opinion/back-in-the-day-in-anacortes-feb/article_f335f568-2d2e-57e3-b0bf-39617b6ccf57.html |access-date=September 17, 2016 |work=Skagit County Herald}}</ref><ref name="charter" />

In 2005 the sheriff's office reported 80 deputies and 53 corrections officers on staff.<ref name="charter">{{Cite web |title=Whatcom County Charter Review Commission Record of Proceedings |url=http://www.whatcomcounty.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/294 |access-date=September 17, 2016 |website=Whatcom County Official Website}}</ref>