By Associated Press

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - At least 23 officers in Washington and another 14 in Idaho have had their badges stripped since 2007 through a process called decertification for offenses ranging from stealing prescription drugs from inmates to having sex on duty.

Since Washington established its certification commission in 2002, 78 officers have been decertified, including at least 23 since 2007. Idaho's Peace Officers Standards and Training office has decertified 127 officers since it was created in 1970, including 14 last year.

Officers who have been decertified in either state can no longer work in law enforcement, The Spokesman-Review newspaper reported Sunday after filing public records requests.

With about 10,000 law enforcement officers in Washington and 3,541 in Idaho, only a tiny fraction ever face decertification, the newspaper reported.

Neither state goes out of its way to publicize the names and circumstances of officers who have been fired and decertified.

"We have difficulty explaining the process to police agencies, let alone the public," Doug Blair, deputy director of operations at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, told the newspaper.

Jeffry Black, executive director of Idaho Peace Officers Standards and Training, said decertification isn't the only reason more officers are losing their badges than in the past.

"I think problems have always been there, but now agencies are being more proactive," Black said.

Washington adopted the process to ensure that those who were unfit to be law enforcement officers couldn't work somewhere else, Blair said.

In one case, a Spokane County sheriff's detective served another six years as the chief in St. Maries, Idaho, and as undersheriff in Washington's San Juan County after being fired in 1984 for falsifying 23 reports.

Under the current system, he would have been stripped of his badge and unable to work again in law enforcement in either state.

Officers in both states can face decertification for violating certain agency codes of conduct or being convicted of a crime.

Black says the most common reason Idaho officers lose their certification is for having sex on the job. In Washington, domestic violence and dishonesty are the most common, according to a list provided by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.

"Officers are reflective of society, we are human," Black said.

The Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission and Idaho Peace Officers Standards and Training certify police as well as decertify them.

In both states, officers must pass required tests, including a psychological exam, criminal background check and a polygraph.

Once Washington officers pass those exams and graduate from the law enforcement academy they are certified. Idaho officers aren't certified until a year after they're hired.

Idaho's Peace Officers and Standards and Training office has been certifying officers since it was established in 1970. The first Idaho officer to lose his certification, in 1986, was a Homedale police officer who was convicted of assault, Black said.

Since then, there have been 126 other decertifications.

Since becoming director for the Idaho office in 2006, Black has hired six part-time investigators to help clear the 84 open investigations.

Investigations are reviewed by a 15-member board that decides whether an officer loses his or her credentials.

The Washington commission has 14 members.

As in Idaho, Washington agencies must contact the commission if an officer has been fired.

Washington's statute outlines what behavior disqualifies an officer, including a criminal conviction, lying on the application for certification, or violating some agency codes of conduct, such as lying.

"It can also include actions that would constitute violations of the law even though the officer is not charged or convicted," Blair said.