- 
      - **  Home
      - **   About Us
      - **  Archives
      - **   Events
      - **  Publications

### Contact Us

To provide feedback on the Community Policing Dispatch, e-mail the editorial board at CPDispatch@usdoj.gov.

To obtain details on COPS Office programs, publications, and resources, contact the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770 or AskCopsRC@usdoj.gov

**U.S. Department of Justice**        Office of Community Oriented Policing Services            145 N Street, N.E.       Washington, DC 20530      www.cops.usdoj.gov×         Menu         - Home
- About Us
- Archives
- Events
- Publications
- Contact Us
Spokane Police Department:            Reform at its Best 
  February 2019 | Volume 12 | Issue 1
Commitment to excellence
The Spokane (Washington) Police  Department (SPD) made significant and permanent improvements through  the Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance (CRI-TA) process.  The SPD went above and beyond U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)  suggestions in many instances—specifically in the areas of community outreach,  training, and policy review.****

Survey results in 2018 showed high rates of community  satisfaction with police encounters. Of those respondents who interacted with  officers, 81 percent were satisfied with how the officer treated them, 82  percent felt the officer treated them fairly, and 82 percent felt the officer  was respectful. Eighty-seven percent of respondents agreed with the statement,  “The Spokane Police Department is successfully working to improve its  relationship with Spokane residents.” Citizen complaints are down by 68  percent—today the SPD enjoys substantially more positive feedback from the  community than complaints—and officer use of force plummeted by 26 percent in  the past five years.

The survey also validated SPD training; 89 percent of  respondents agreed that the SPD’s training (Crisis Intervention, De-escalation,  Implicit Bias, and Procedural Justice) was beneficial to serving the community.  According to Ladd Smith, Office of Police Ombudsman Commission, “The SPD is  demonstrating leadership, courage, and commitment to healthy community policing  as it continues towards excellence.”
Community outreach
Since beginning CRI-TA, the SPD created two successful  youth programs. The Youth and Police Initiative (YPI) program connects officers and high-risk teenagers by engaging them at  local high schools and middle schools. More than 500 teens have graduated to  date.

“YPI is effective in bridging the gap and meeting kids  where they are,” says Pastor Shon Davis, who has worked closely with the SPD on  youth outreach programs. “It’s a safe place to have dialogue, to go beyond the  uniform, address fears and perceptions, and see the humanity of officers.”

The Police Activities League (PAL)  program also connects youth and police. The program has grown by more than 800  percent since its inception four years ago. Each summer, hundreds of Spokane  youth participate in the PAL at three city neighborhood parks.

Participating youth were surveyed at the beginning of the  program and again at the conclusion of the program in 2017. The results  indicated that youth are 32 percent more likely to aspire to be a police  officer after taking part in the PAL program.

Survey results from 2018 indicated that Spokane residents  value community outreach and interactions with officers. Sixty-seven percent  responded they would like more police visibility (e.g., seeing police drive by,  attend meetings and events); 75% of respondents agreed that the SPD’s youth  outreach efforts are beneficial to serving the community.

The SPD has doubled its number of neighborhood resource officers  (NRO) since beginning CRI-TA. The NROs work carefully with detectives under the  leadership of captains, sergeants, and lieutenants to address issues in the  police service areas. Downtown NROs were recognized with the 2017 Value of  Community Partner award for their collaborative work with the Spokane Neighborhood  Action Program (SNAP) to decrease the number of people experiencing  homelessness. Police precincts have hosted dozens of Coffee with a Cop events  since the SPD started that program in 2014. Coffee with a Cop continues at  various locations throughout the city.

Prior to CRI-TA, the SPD lacked a consistent presence at  community meetings. Now SPD employees serve as liaisons and board members in  many organizations, including the Salvation Army, the NATIVE Project, Lutheran Community  Services Northwest, the National Association for the Advancement of  Colored People (NAACP), Partners with Families and Children, Young Women’s  Christian Association (YWCA), Downtown  Spokane Partnership, East Sprague Business Association,  and the Homeless  Coalition. 
Nondeadly use of force incidents 
The SPD’s use of force training requirements exceed  accreditation standards and CRI-TA recommendations. The SPD requires the  following annually: 
- Training on use of force policy 
- Defensive tactics recertification 
- Force options recertification 

The SPD has fostered a new level of openness and  transparency with an updated media protocol, resulting in a consistent release  of information to the community, especially related to officer-involved  shootings.

The SPD diversified the Police  Advisory Committee (PAC)—a group of community members who serve as  an advisory body to the SPD—and expanded its role in reviewing critical  incidents.

While the CRI-TA report did not recommend body-worn cameras, the department felt that their  implementation was an important step toward increasing accountability and  transparency. Body-worn cameras allow for incident review, which allows  recognition or correction to be more accurately assessed. A 2015 survey by Arizona State University showed that of the community members interviewed who were captured on body-worn  camera video, 80 percent rated their interaction with Spokane police as  favorable. The survey also showed that community members were supportive of the  adoption of body worn cameras. 
Training: Above and beyond 
The SPD now has one of the most comprehensive crisis invention  team (CIT) training programs in Washington State. Every Spokane officer has  completed a mandatory 40 hours of training to deal with a wide of range of  mental health issues. The department also created a specialty team of officers  to respond to incidents involving suicidal individuals, drug-induced violence,  or aggressive behavior created by a mental health crisis. The partnership  between the SPD and Frontier  Behavioral Health has been the cornerstone for the successful CIT  program.

Department-wide procedural justice training was another  important step in transforming training for Spokane police officers regarding  their interactions with community members. This DOJ training focuses on  treating every community member with dignity and respect. This specific focus  on fairness, impartiality, and transparency has led to stronger police-community  relations. In addition to training officers in procedural justice, SPD  instructors taught classes for the public and organizations interested in  creating a procedurally just method for interacting with various stakeholders.

In addition, the SPD provided implicit bias training to  all officers, which was not a CRI-TA recommendation but deemed a priority by  Chief Craig Meidl. Implicit bias training will be an ongoing effort  incorporated into in-service training for the SPD.

When community stakeholders were asked about the impact of  the reforms, they most frequently listed improved training for officers as a  positive outcome of CRI-TA.

Ladd Smith, Office of Police Ombudsman Commission,  said, “The SPD officers and administrators have made great strides to be one of  the best police departments in the country. In the past 10 years, SPD has  embraced collaborative reform. Examples include welcoming input from the DOJ,  embracing body-worn cameras, and training every officer in mental illness  awareness. Recently the SPD communicated an interest in working with the  Ombudsman to effect change with the reform of its use of force policy.”

Breean Beggs, a member of the Spokane City Council,  explained, "I joined the conversation on Spokane police reform in 2006 as  a civil rights lawyer representing families of people who were unjustly killed  due to ineffective police practices. After researching the trends in Spokane I  concluded there were three major problems: 
- Missing training for officers in de-escalation  and working with the growing number of people with mental/cognitive  impairments; 
- A lack of community engagement; and, 
- A lack of credible civilian oversight and  discipline.

 I am thrilled with the results achieved  by the Spokane Police Department by participating in the COPS [Office] Collaborative  Reform program. The department was able to create all the needed changes I and  others had identified while improving their morale and the quality of its  relationship with the community. Not surprisingly, the number of complaints,  and use of force incidents are dramatically reduced and police officers are now  embedded in the community instead of isolated warriors. Most importantly, the  City has now created a culture and institutions of self-examination and  improvement."

          For more information, visit the Spokane  Police Department’s collaborative reform web page.        

Tweet
**Subscribe to Email Updates**
To sign up for monthly updates or to access your subscriber preferences, please enter your email address in the Subscribe box.
Email
The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office. 

The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office. 

**Explore**
- Home
- About Us
- Archives
- Events
- Publications
- Contact Us
**Connect With Us**
Want to stay connected with the COPS office?             Follow us on social media!
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
 FOIA 

 No FEAR Act 

 Open Government 

 Plain Writing 

 USA.gov 

 Legal Policies and Disclaimers 

 Language Access Plan 

 DOJ Privacy Policy