Director's Welcome

Thank you for visiting us here at the Law Enforcement Support Agency. We are very proud that for over 30 years, LESA has not only been the primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for Pierce County, but also continues to be a national leader in providing Records Management services, Information Technology services, and Emergency Communications to law enforcement agencies. LESA’s services directly impact nearly every one of the over 790,000 residents of Pierce County and LESA remains committed to providing them the very best. LESA’s outstanding performance over three decades demonstrates that significant savings and efficiencies result from the economies of scale achieved by consolidating functions and sharing resources amongst police agencies. In turn, such consolidation and sharing dramatically impact the efficiency with which the criminal justice system operates. In this way, LESA has made outstanding improvements to criminal justice efficiency with its common applications, shared databases, and maximum use of digital information that allow for rapid distribution of information to local, regional, and federal law enforcement agencies, jails, prosecutors, courts, and other agencies throughout the country. LESA’s virtually paperless digital environment is a national model of integration, processing speed and distribution.

Funded pursuant to a strict and equitable cost allocation methodology amongst its participating agencies, overseen by an Executive Board, and annually audited by the State of Washington, LESA is not only accountable for every dollar spent, but also extraordinarily committed to providing the very best service at the least cost for taxpayers. As a further indication of that commitment, beginning in 2006, LESA entered into an extensive zero-based review and strategic planning process called Vision ONE. Vision ONE’s charter was – and is – to examine and reevaluate every aspect of LESA operations, with a goal of identifying and implementing best practices that reflect national standards and the state-of-the-art.

A key component of Vision ONE involves an unprecedented number of external studies and audits coupled with internal efforts to identify and implement best practices. The principal efforts include an audit of LESA’s Communication Center by an elite consultant [previously utilized by the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) for its 2003 national study of PSAP performance]. Known in the industry as a “PSAP Assessment Study,” the scope of the study is a very broad and detailed analysis of every aspect of operations, and a performance comparison to best practices, as well as the performance of agencies not only within Washington State but across the nation. As a direct result of this study, LESA received its first staffing increase in 12 years; revised and implemented improvements in its recruiting, hiring, and training practices; established a new telephone reporting unit; increased trunk line capacity; instituted new and exciting employee recognition programs; and began the national accreditation process through Commission on Law Enforcement Accreditation (CALEA).

Also of great import to LESA citizens is the need to assure that LESA facilities and systems are fully secure, survivable and redundant in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist event. As part of Vision ONE, LESA launched an exhaustive Facilities Study by two prominent firms to assess LESA’s readiness for wide-scale natural disasters, pandemics, and man-made threats on the scale of 9/11, and to make recommendations for improvements. Similarly, Vision ONE also identified LESA’s many critical systems as high-value targets of potential hackers, criminals, or terrorists seeking to deny, disrupt, or exploit critical law enforcement communication and information systems. At the same time, LESA is conducting a security audit at the policy, application, and technology levels; has funded the purchase and installation of a robust intrusion detection system; has increased its physical security; and has taken other measures to assure security and redundancy.

The foundation to LESA’s outstanding technological success has been the development of a comprehensive, technology-specific, strategic planning methodology focused on business process improvement. Known as LEADS (Law Enforcement Activity Data System), this collaborative process has enabled LESA’s small staff of highly skilled, productive, and innovative developers to code and maintain a complex suite of over 100 distinct law enforcement applications falling within the five broad categories of Crime Data, Reference, User Support, Corrections Data and Support Systems. These applications operate over a LESA-designed and maintained robust network operating at 99.9999% reliability and are shared by all 14 of the law enforcement agencies that LESA supports. LESA’s flagship “Enforcer” application enables every officer on the street to access and share critical information in real time, to rapidly process queries of critical databases and to electronically transmit reports and other data for further distribution throughout the criminal justice system. As such, LESA is a cutting edge leader in the field of law enforcement technology.

The secret to LESA’s success? Our people! LESA is blessed with a staff of highly creative and dedicated public servants who are committed to working behind the scenes 24x7x365 to ensure the welfare of those who reside in Pierce County. All of us are much safer because of their dedication to be the best and their willingness to go the extra mile. The achievements they have collectively made demonstrate their caliber as people and LESA employees. LESA and the people of Pierce County depend on their dedication, innovation, and productivity. For that they deserve our recognition and thanks.

Whether you are a resident of Pierce County or looking to join our team or a member of a law enforcement agency or just an interested citizen, this Internet site is dedicated to providing you the information you need to learn about LESA, its mission, values, programs and services. I invite you to take the time to explore, learn, and enjoy.

Thomas R. Orr, Director