(The Center Square) – Following continual pleas from the community and some of its elected officials, Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall said on Monday that residents should expect to see more officers downtown ramping up enforcement efforts starting next week.
Hall updated the Spokane City Council on a wealth of recent data during the officials’ Monday committee meeting. While recent reports show violent crime trending slightly downward in parts of the city, Hall said there is an uptick, particularly around crimes against persons, like assault.
“We are ticking up,” Hall told the council. “This just drills down to assaults, which we believe are driving a lot of the violent crime.”
Hall said there were 38 confirmed shootings in Spokane from January to September that resulted in a victim injury and 66 more without injury. During that period last year, there were only 30 confirmed shootings with a victim injured, but 88 others with no injury.
Arrests are up about 22% overall from January to September compared to last year’s timeframe.
Meanwhile, the Spokane Police Department’s call volume during that period is down about 1.4% compared to last year. However, according to Hall’s data, the number of abandoned 911 calls has increased by over 111% since 2022, from 7,073 to 14,947.
He attributed this to understaffing at Spokane Regional Emergency Communications and said that many of those callers got put on hold, hung up and called back. Hall also shared data showing that “DOA,” or dead on arrival, calls were up 49% since 2019, with 448 so far this year.
“That’s a significant number in 2024 already, 448 community members have lost their lives,” Hall said. “The fact that that’s ticking up so significantly is an issue we’re also digging into, and we want to work with the Medical Examiner’s Office and take a look at what’s causing this.”
A lot of the community’s focus is on homelessness, with many calling for more enforcement around the city’s illegal camping and “Sit & Lie” laws.
Hall’s data showed that calls related to illegal camping have increased by 4,851% since 2019, with trespassing also up by 72% and pedestrian interference by 1,747%. From January to September 2024 alone, there were 3,220 calls for unlawful camping, a 1,239% increase from that timeframe last year.
Out of this year’s calls related to illegal camping, only 152 resulted in a citation, 42% more than that timeframe last year, but still only 4.7% of the total associated calls.
“[Officers] will, as busy as they are, address the issue in the most effective and efficient way possible that they see,” Hall said, “and for them, it’s going to be pedestrian interference.”
He said this is because officers don’t have to check for shelter availability, which local law requires when officers cite someone for “Sit & Lie.” Councilmember Michael Cathcart argued that the code allows for more options and questioned why officers aren’t citing for “Sit & Lie.”
“Just walk past the Ridpath [Hotel]; that’s not pedestrian interference, that’s “Sit & Lie,” Cathcart said, “and we don’t enforce it, not once, and I can’t tell you the number of complaints we get about those issues and we don’t enforce and so what are we doing about it?”
From January to September, officers did issue 24 citations for “Sit & Lie,” but that’s still about 82% less than that period last year. Meanwhile, pedestrian interference citations skyrocketed 208%, going from 212 during that time last year to 653 through the end of September this year.
That number of pedestrian interference citations alone covers almost all 665 calls related to that violation from January to September this year.
Hall said that starting next week, SPD will ramp up enforcement efforts around “Sit & Lie” and other laws by increasing its overtime staffing downtown. The reconfiguration will utilize overtime savings to start a 30-day model, which SPD will use to gauge its long-term sustainability.
“Interesting timing on the 30 days in which we’re choosing to start enforcing,” Cathcart replied, alluding to the upcoming general election next month.
