SPOKANE, Wash. – City of Spokane is now one week into their pilot program designed to improve the streets of downtown by increasing police presence. According to Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall, downtown should be seeing four-to-six more officers daily during the 30-day trial period.
Despite the new initiative, called the CORE program, downtown businesses have mixed feelings about its early impact.
Police reports indicate an increase in reported crimes from 38 the week of Oct. 6 to 58 during the week of Oct. 13.
Local business employees offer varying perspectives. Employees at Chicken-N-Mo expressed ongoing safety concerns and described the last week as worse, with an apparent rise in public drug usage.
The owner of P.M. Jacoy’s, notable for a shooting incident earlier this year when his son allegedly defended the store, shared his regret about relocating to Spokane, highlighting police response time issues at his store.
Conversely, the owner of Satellite Diner noticed increased patrols and shared insight into broader challenges. They noted that open drug use and vandalism remain issues but emphasized the negative impact of remote work shifts reducing downtown foot traffic.
The city acknowledged feedback, reminding that the program is in its early stages and directed further questions to the police department, which couldn’t be reached for additional comments.
