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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Sunday Spin 2: Keeping an eye on things and people

Spokane may get some help tracking people with a propensity to take other people’s stuff, and keep them from doing that again.

Because of its high rate of auto theft and other property crimes, the Legislature is considering a “pilot program for Spokane that would keep some repeat thieves on a year of community supervision after they get out of prison.

The state eliminated such post-prison supervision for property crimes 10 years ago. Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Tony Hazel urged the House Appropriations Committee to let Spokane give it a try so the state could study whether better supervision would reduce recidivism. Some defense attorneys argue it could set up a constitutional problem because people convicted in Spokane would get different, longer sentences than those convicted elsewhere. Hazel said the state routinely sets up pilot programs without running afoul of equal protection rules.

 



Jim Camden
Jim Camden joined The Spokesman-Review in 1981 and retired in 2021. He is currently the political and state government correspondent covering Washington state.

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