Sheriff Bill Elfo is proud to lead the dedicated men and women that serve with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Elfo began his law enforcement career in 1974 with the Pompano Beach Police Department in Broward County, Florida. He rose through the ranks to become a Police Captain and City Prosecutor/Police Legal Advisor. After 23 years of service, he moved to Whatcom County to accept the position of Public Safety Director for the City of Blaine. In 2002, he was appointed to serve as Whatcom County's Interim Sheriff. He was elected to the Office of Sheriff in 2003 and 2007.
Sheriff Elfo holds a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice, a Masters of Science degree in Criminal Justice and is a law school graduate (Juris Doctor). He graduated from a number of nationally recognized law enforcement and corrections training programs that include the University of Louisville’s Southern Police Institute Administrative Officer’s Course, the FBI National Law Institute, the FBI Command College and the United States Department of Justice’s National Sheriff’s Institute. He has completed thousands of hours of public management, legal and law enforcement training. He has served as a police academy instructor and an adjunct professor of criminal justice and legal studies at several colleges and universities.
Sheriff Elfo is the immediate past president of the Washington State Sheriffs’ Association, a member and past president of the Whatcom County Sheriff and Police Chief’s Association and is an active member of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, the Washington Association of County Officials and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. He is also a member of the Washington State Bar Association, the Bar of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington and the bars of several other state and federal jurisdictions.
Working to improve the criminal justice, homeland security and mental health systems, Sheriff Elfo regularly communicates with elected representatives and other officials at the state and national level. He has testified before the Congress of the United States on Homeland Security matters and the Washington State Legislature. Sheriff Elfo was appointed by Governor Christine Gregoire to service on the Criminal Justice Training Commission and the Governor’s Organized Crime Advisory Board. He was appointed by Attorney General Rob Mckenna so serve as Chair of the Criminal Law and Sentencing Committee of the Attorney General’s Methamphetamine Task Force.
Sheriff Elfo is active in the community and serves on the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence, the Whatcom County Law and Justice Council, the Whatcom County Chemical Dependency/Mental Health Fund Oversight Advisory Committee, the Americans With Disabilities Advisory Committee, the Whatcom Community College Law and Justice Advisory Committee and the Corporate Board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Whatcom County.
Sheriff Elfo is the recipient of numerous awards that include the American Legion Man of the Year Award, the Whatcom County 2007 Whatcom County Association of Realtors Citizen of the Year, the 2008 Alzheimer Society of Washington’s Ken King Community Service Award and the 2009 Boys and Girls Club’s National Service to Youth Award.
E-mail Sheriff Elfo at:
belfo@co.whatcom.wa.us |
