Cop Shop Opens On West First Neighborhood Volunteers Hold Party For Substation
On his way to get a beer Monday morning, Jack Salvant drifted passed a street party on the 1200 block of West First Avenue.
Balloons bounced in front of him. Spokane police cars lined the curbs. People crowded the block, straining to hear what an important-looking man with gray hair had to say and clapping after he said it.
“What is this?” Salvant asked, nudging another onlooker. “There’s cops everywhere.”
“They were invited,” the stranger said, not taking his eyes off the group. Salvant raised his brows. For a moment, he forgot about the beer.
He had stumbled into a grand-opening party for the city’s latest police substation, staffed solely by volunteers who live or work downtown.
The station, called TOP COPS, will give neighbors a place to meet and discuss community problems, refer residents to social service agencies and talk with police, including Rick Albin, the area’s new resource officer.
Volunteer Sharon Lord said the new substation actually has been open six days a week since March 20. Each day, more neighbors have stopped in to give it the once-over, she said.
“Every substation has its own unique neighborhood issues to address,” Lord said. “We’re still defining ours and we’re trying to let people know that we’re here and we want to help.”
By October, Lord said she hopes TOP COPS has at least 100 trained volunteers. Right now about 34 volunteers keep the substation open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cheryl Steele, who helped organize the city’s six other police substations, said neighbors in the West First area have made it clear what concerns them the most.
Not drugs or prostitution, something the downtown block is best known for, she said, but how to help the mentally ill residents who roam the streets.
“That concerns them the most,” Steele said. “So we’ve given the substation volunteers extra training with mental health experts on what can be done to help.”
Also on the minds of downtown neighbors is the need for more public restrooms, more lighting at night and more police all the time.
Before continuing to the bar, Salvant, 43, poked around the new substation with nearly 100 others. He accepted a piece of cake with pink frosting and read neighborhood safety tips.
Salvant, who said he lives in a downtown hotel, was skeptical of the scene at first. He kept to himself, reading and moving through the crowd casually, picking up on conversations as he went.
“This is pretty neat,” he finally said on his way out. “The cops are here, I’m here, people in suits are here, but still, everybody’s the same.”
Six more substations are expected to open by this fall, including in Browne’s Addition, Indian Trail, North Central and Logan neighborhoods.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo