SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Police Department is hoping to expand it’s presence downtown to areas that need a little more attention.
Since October, SPD has increased patrols near 2nd Avenue and Division Street as a result of the CORE Plan, which aims to tackle key challenges downtown.
Now, SPD said it’s heard from downtown businesses outside of the CORE focus area that say they need a greater police presence.
“When the police focus on one area downtown, people move somewhere else, and so it feels to me, like there are some other areas now where we might need a little extra attention,” said Riverside Neighborhood Council Chair, Pia Hallenberg.
Staff at the downtown restaurant, The Onion, said they have seen the benefits of the CORE program.
“I don’t think we probably suffer as much as others do,” said Managing Partner of The Onion, Robin Bernhart.
A few blocks away, businesses Soulful Soups and Atticus Coffee said they are often greeted with people camping in their doorways and trash lining the streets. They said the police don’t always show up when they call for help.
SPD said it currently has 26 officers patrolling downtown, and that they are working to raise that number to be able to respond to more crime hotspots downtown.
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