“Community with conservative values in Democratic state reduces crime, while neighboring liberal areas see increase”

A blue state sheriff says despite being in what he believes is one of the “least policed states in the nation,” his red-leaning county is seeing success and not falling into the statewide trend in violent crimes on the rise.

“Washington State overall is the least policed state in our nation, and sadly, it’s showing; our state crime rate rose dangerously in the last 5 years,” Kittitas County Sheriff Clay Myers wrote in an address on public safety in the county.

“Thankfully, Kittitas County managed to buck this trend.”

Myers spoke with Fox News Digital following his address and explained the shortage in law enforcement across the state has played a huge role in the crime issues. 

Kittitas County Sheriff Myers emphasized the challenges faced due to the state being the “least policed in the nation,” correlating with a rising crime rate over the past five years. (Kittitas County Sheriff Facebook)

Myers said while he is blessed to have a good relationship with most of the sheriffs in Washington state and many of the Western states, he said many of them aren’t as lucky to have the community and local government support that his county has.

“I’m not trying to criticize anybody here, but they don’t all have the support of their legislative branch. And that’s where the funding comes from. That’s what allows them to have an adequate number of law enforcement on the street, an adequate number of detectives, an adequate number of forensic support. Those are all things that they desperately want. So many of them are just doing the best they can with what they have,” Myers said.

In January, Bob Ferguson was sworn into office as the state’s first new governor in 12 years.

“We face real challenges as a state and as a people,” Ferguson said after taking the oath of office. “Our state is unaffordable for many Washingtonians. We rank 50th, last, per capita, in number of law enforcement officers.”

Ferguson also vowed to address the public safety needs across the state and backed a $100 million proposal to help police departments recruit more officers.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ferguson’s office for comment.