After Many Successes, Devotion To Community Still Strong

October 21, 1991 seems so long ago. It was the day Nikki was found dead and I had to explain to my then 10-year-old daughter that her friend wasn’t coming over anymore. I hated that day. I hated the message I had to carry. I especially hated that for her and her friends it hurt to be a child! My hate turned to rage which turned to action which has now, 9.2 years later, ended in a marked journey beyond belief!

When Rebecca West and Nikki Wood were abducted from my West Central neighborhood many neighbors began to ask questions. Don Higgins from the West Central Community Center pioneered the first Task Force that led to the development of COPS West. It was the Police Community Relations subcommittee that actually worked out the details of the substation to be staffed by volunteers. I was the citizen chairperson and Officer Tim Conley of Spokane Police Department assisted our team of 35 citizens in developing a relationship with police. Bob Lipe bought the building for $17,000. Metropolitan Mortgage paid for all the material to renovate the building, approximately $26,000. Electrical, Plumbing and Carpenter Trade Unions did all the labor for free in honor of the girls and to help our neighborhood. Work release from adult and juvenile systems also contributed to labor. Neighbors pitched in, in many ways!

It was an exciting time to work together to achieve a physical structure that would represent safety for our neighborhood. We opened the doors on May 1, 1992, just 7 months after the tragedy.

The day the doors opened we had no procedure, rules, policy or notion of how we were going to operate. We had a donated cell phone from Password under the desk in case we had to call 911! I was selected by my neighbors to be the first elected leader of the substation and trusted to work with police and other agencies to develop a model that is today internationally recognized.

Did I do it alone? No! In fact, there are a documented 836 volunteers in 14 different neighborhoods, 10 substations and 167 projects that make Spokane COPS what it is today. There are nine other building owners: Bob Lipe, Al Paulson, Sue Rouse, Mick McDowell, Roy Harrington, Shadle Park Mall Owners, City of Spokane, Spokane Housing Authority and Gonzaga University, that donate the property for little cost to house substations. There are hundreds of businesses that have contributed in many ways to the success of COPS. The Spokane Police Department has been the mainstay and anchor for neighborhoods to be involved in community policing. It is a foundation built of much strength. I have been honored to work on behalf of all the partners and build this foundation one brick at a time.

My journey has taken me all over the United States. I have spent thousands of hours in meetings, writing policy and developing procedures. I have been on the ground floor with Jack Brucick developing partnerships with Corrections. I have cultivated many relationships bringing services out to the street level where we all live. I have served as a volunteer in COPS, Block Watch, Steering Committee, Neighborhood Council, Health Improvement Partnership, Holmes PTA, Lions and Kiwanis groups. I have become a recognized expert on community mobilization through community policing. I am a trained trainer for national and regional community policing institutes and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. I have been a participant at the Hugh OBrien Youth Leadership Foundation (HOBY).

I have been honored for the work internationally and nationally with leadership awards. I have been sued. I have been lied about and lied to. I have sung at volunteers weddings and cried at their funerals. My personal life became public domain. I went back to college and graduated from Leadership Spokane! I have raised two children and managed to stay married for 21 years! I have missed many at-home evenings and family dinners. I have learned the most from people I least respect. I have received more love and friendship than any one person should be allowed in a lifetime! When all is said done on my COPS journey, I leave knowing that tomorrow when I look at my family and community I can stand proud of my work.

I take all of this knowledge now on a new journey with the Department of Corrections. In the coming year thousands of offenders will be released from our prison system - they are coming home. The first question is how do we want them? For me the answer is without a cloak of anonymity. Secondly, can we commit to our civic responsibility in reducing the potential for victimization? I can.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to prove that we do care and that we all do our best to pass a better place to future generations to honor. I am humbled and blessed for the experiences.