SPOKANE, Wash. – City leaders report positive improvements to downtown safety after the 30-day CORE pilot-program is completed.
Leaders including Mayor Lisa Brown and Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall spoke in a virtual town hall Wednesday to share their findings from the program.
The CORE program was designed to address homelessness, open drug use and theft.
Jake Rosenberg, the owner of Solitude Barbershop, told NonStop Local that his business is frequently in the center of issues facing downtown.
He regularly witnesses crime and open-air drug use.
“We have a really strong drug population. And that’s where the largest groups gather,” Rosenberg said.
But in the last 30 days, Rosenberg has noticed differences.
“So you’ll get these groups [that] come… and they get broken up quicker than I have seen… It used to be… you’d call because they’d get aggressive or they wouldn’t leave in front of your doorstep. Nothing would happen. Now, it’s like you don’t even need to call. It’s just kinda being taken care of,” Rosenberg said.
THE CORE program added more Spokane Police Department (SPD) officers downtown. Additionally, SPD used foot and bike patrols to increase visibility and engagement.
“Assaults, both simple and [aggravated] assaults were reduced during this 4-week period compared to the 4-week period the year before. So, we’re using the same date range… only from 2023. Violent crime trends went down slightly,” Chief Hall said in Wednesday’s briefing.
During the 30-day period, the police data reflects a small number of people that are committing a large number of crimes downtown.
NonStop Local requested an interview with Chief Hall and sought information from public safety leaders to gather more context on the data. However, NonStop Local was informed Chief Hall would not be available for any interviews.
Travis Dickinson, the owner of Cochinito, told NonStop Local he was unaware of the CORE program. He has not noticed a difference in the crime-related issues the restaurant deals with or any new increase in SPD’s presence.
“…Talking briefly with my staff, kind of the same. They haven’t seen anymore. Haven’t seen any less,” Dickinson said.
Dickinson added that the restaurant, which sits across the street from SPD’s downtown precinct, regularly deals with vandalism and harassment.
The business has had windows busted out twice since September.
“Kinda hard to judge from our location. But nothing noticeable. We haven’t noticed a huge swing [in] either direction,” Dickinson said.
Ashley Brownlee, the owner of Garland Resale and Boutique, a consignment shop next door to Solitude Barbershop, has seen positive improvements.
“So, I’ve… seen an increase in patrol cars and a decrease and maybe a decrease in ‘stoop tenants,’ Brownlee said.
Brownlee discussed how she has seen a decrease in open-air drug use.
“And especially in the area that we’re in. I’m in the back end of the Ridpath [Building]… block so there’s a lot of crime and maybe drug-use,” Brownlee said.
The City will be determining if the 4-week trial provided enough data to justify making the increased presence downtown permanent.
They also have to figure out how the City will fund a permanent project.
