Spokane may trim Crime Check
Where do you live?
That may be the first question Crime Check operators ask late-night callers come Jan. 1.
Give the wrong answer and you could be out of luck, told that the operator won’t help you and that you’ll have to file a crime report the next day.
Spokane police are proposing to cut back the city’s Crime Check service to the hours between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. each day.
Crime Check operators take non-emergency calls from the public and help them file crime reports.
The proposal is part of an effort to trim the Spokane Police Department’s 2005 budget without reducing the number of cops on the street, said Deputy Police Chief Al Odenthal.
“I can’t afford 24-7,” said Odenthal, adding that emergency 911 service would continue to be available at all times.
The question is whether it’s reasonable for people to assume they should be able to report things like a stolen purse 24 hours a day or if they can be asked to wait until the next day, he said.
Reducing Crime Check hours would bring the city’s $800,000 bill down to $350,000 to $400,000.
The county and city of Spokane Valley’s annual share of the 24-hour Crime Check system is about $475,000.
Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk told Spokane County commissioners Tuesday that he supports reducing Crime Check service for unincorporated Spokane County residents to the same levels proposed by the city of Spokane. That would reduce confusion over who has 24-hour service and who doesn’t and trim his budget by more than $200,000, he said.
But Commissioners John Roskelley and Kate McCaslin said Tuesday that they want to keep full-time Crime Check service in those areas.
“Why should people in the unincorporated area be penalized because of the city’s financial problems?” McCaslin asked.
Sterk said if commissioners give him enough money, he’d keep Crime Check going all day.
But without the city’s participation, it would cost the county $183,000 more than expected next year to serve unincorporated Spokane County and the city of Spokane Valley. Spokane Valley contracts with the county for police services.
Spokane Valley officials will have to decide if they want to invest their share of that extra cost to keep Crime Check a 24-hour service for Spokane Valley residents.
“We need the city of Spokane Valley to be a part of this discussion because they pay half the bill,” Sterk said.
Spokane Valley officials could not be reached Tuesday to comment.
The city of Spokane has already cut its school resource officer program in midyear budget slashing. There aren’t many more places other than Crime Check to look for savings in 2005, said Odenthal, adding that Spokane Mayor Jim West will have to decide whether Crime Check should be cut.
“If he decides those cuts go elsewhere, that’s probably going to mean laying people off,” Odenthal said.
Spokane Deputy Mayor Jack Lynch said that West has made no decisions on the issue and is considering many options.
Lorlee Mizell, Spokane County’s 911 Emergency Communications director, said it’s difficult to determine just how many operators would be laid off if Crime Check service is reduced.
Operators answer both 911 and Crime Check calls. About three to four operators typically work the graveyard shift, Mizell said.
Savings could also be realized by encouraging people to file crime reports online and to not call Crime Check with routine government business questions, Odenthal said.
One possible source of funding to retain the current level of Crime Check service is the recently passed 0.1 percent sales tax for criminal justice and public safety. Voters approved that tax of $1 on a $1,000 purchase last week. It’s expected to raise about $6 million a year for the next five years, which will be split among the county and cities within its borders based on population.
But Sterk is insistent that the money would be best used replacing the county’s aging radio dispatch system, which is used for law enforcement and fire purposes.
Odenthal said Spokane Police Chief Roger Bragdon also views upgrading that system as a priority.
If Crime Check is to be reduced, citizens must be educated about the changes, and there isn’t enough time to properly do that before the end of the year, said Roskelley, who suggested that cuts might be better delayed if they have to take place.
And what if the city of Spokane cuts Crime Check and Spokane County does not? What’s to be said to city residents calling in with reports during overnight hours?
“Too bad, so sad, call the mayor. Here’s his number,” answered McCaslin. “That’s the script. I’ll write it out for you.”