SPOKANE VALLEY - Police Chief David Ellis presented an update on the Spokane Valley police department on July 11. He also included an update on crime numbers.
He brought this update to council as a first half update to see how the first half of this year compared to crime rates last year.
Ellis said a lot of the crime numbers are down even with the growth of the region.
“You’ll see that despite an increase in population and an increase in call volume most of our crime stats are down,” Ellis said. “This comparing the first half of 2022 to the first half of 2023.”
In a chart Ellis presented to council it shows that some serious crimes dropped like negligent manslaughter, as there were three cases last year compared to none in 2023.
Some crimes rose a bit such as rape which climbed from 31 cases in 2022 to 36 this year according to police statistics. Showing a 16 percent increase from last year.
Some statistics showed no change such as criminal homicide in which two cases were reported in both years.
Other property crimes have also increased, such as robbery and burglary. Robbery cases increased from 27 to 37 cases meaning there was a 37 percent increase.
Garage burglaries also went up substantially, going from 58 incidents last year to 82 cases this year. An increase of 41 percent.
According to Ellis, even though some of the crimes are increasing the numbers are lower on average.
“The few (crimes) that you do see that are up,” Ellis told council. “The good news about those is that in our five-year average they are down significantly compared to that average.”
“Things appear to be fairly stable,” he added.
Ellis also told council the department has re started their bike patrols throughout town as well.
He said these patrols can reach spots that patrol cars can’t, so they can help patrol trails and parks to help prevent graffiti and other crimes.
Ellis also brought council up to speed on the new training center project that is underway in the West Plains.
He said it is a $42 million project and is a partnership between the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and Fairchild Air Force Base.
Ellis said it is a state-of-the-art facility that will have classrooms, a firing range, a driving course, a virtual reality training room and other amenities.
He told council that the construction funding is being covered by Spokane County and Fairchild, but Spokane Valley officers will be using the facility and may cover some of the operational costs.
Ellis said the construction is expected to be completed by August 15, with a move in date of September 1.
He also said the first month will be spent installing technology and they hope to be fully functional by October 1.
He also said police have obtained and started using a second trailer camera to monitor traffic in some areas.
Ellis also said the department is fully staffed and that additional volunteers for S.C.O.P.E. have been applying to serve.
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