Police Department

Call 911 for emergencies, or review our Reporting Crime page for non-emergency reporting options.

See Police & Safety pages for services and resources related to crime in our community.

Annual Reports

• 2022 Annual Report
• 2020 Annual Report

Meet Chief Alanis

Chief Nathan Alanis brings extensive knowledge and leadership experience gained throughout his 16 years of law enforcement service in Snohomish County. He began his career as a patrol deputy, served as a school resource officer, and as a special investigations unit detective before being promoted to sergeant. He went on to serve as the office of neighborhoods community engagement and crime prevention sergeant. In 2018, he served the city of Snohomish as the administrative sergeant for four years before being selected as Interim Police Chief for the city of Brier. As a lieutenant, he served as the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office night watch commander, and most recently as the police chief in the city of Sultan.  

About the Police Department

The Snohomish Police Department has a staff of 20 commissioned and civilian staff. The department serves a resident population of more than 10,000 and a daytime population of approximately 15,000.

Snohomish Police Chief Rob Palmer started his law enforcement career with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office in 1988.  He has served in a variety of assignments including Patrol, Investigations and Administration before assuming the Chief’s position in October of 2020.

The City of Snohomish has contracted with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office for police services since 2012.  The City has its own police department uniform, patch, and vehicle graphics to maintain the identity of a local police department.  

Records

The Police Department has a records manager and records clerk/receptionist to assist the patrol staff and the public with police records needs.  

Their duties include maintaining police report records, processing concealed weapon permit applications, and responding to public records requests.

Patrol Unit

The Snohomish Police patrol staff consists of four crews,  There are two crews on the day shift and two on the night shift, and split the week for their work days.  

Since Snohomish is centrally located between the North, East and South Sheriff’s Office precincts, it is not uncommon for citizens to see Snohomish police officers working alongside sheriff's deputies on police calls within the city.

The Snohomish Police patrol staff also includes Community Outreach Officer Deputy Niebusch.

School Resource Officer 

The City partners with the Snohomish School District to fund a full-time School Resource Officer at Snohomish High School. The Sheriff's Office and the school district also have a School Resource Officer at Glacier Peak High School outside the City.

The School Resource Officer also assists patrol officers with traffic control, evidences search or transport, and other law enforcement tasks as needed.

Investigations 

There are two detectives assigned to the Snohomish Police Department, supervised by the Administrative Sergeant.  All three are available to assist patrol in scene investigations and follow up on property and persons crimes in the city.  

Additionally, the police department has available the services of the Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit (violent crimes), Special Investigations Unit (crimes against children), and Collision Investigation Unit (serious accidents involving a crime).