Cutbacks hurting police efforts

A neighborhood resource police officer told Spokane City Council members Monday that staff cuts in the Police Department have hurt efforts to solve crimes.

Pfc. Dave Staben said he is one of three neighborhood resource officers assigned to the city’s North Side. He handles West Central and Nevada-Lidgerwood neighborhoods, which together make up a large segment of the city north of the river.

“The area I have to cover is ridiculously huge,” Staben told council members during a town-hall-style meeting at the West Central Community Center. “We could do a lot better.”

City budget cuts in 2004 and 2005 eliminated school resource officers and trimmed the number of officers assigned to neighborhoods, even though the programs had been seen as effective.

Police officials chose instead to maintain regular patrol and major crimes investigations as core functions of the department.

But Staben said crime tips and other intelligence provided by neighborhood volunteers have been invaluable in stopping crime.

He said one tip he received of a child being harassed by an adult led to the arrest of a 30-year-old man who was accused of sexual abuse against a girl over a three-year period. She is now 15.

“It’s an example of the great success of the COPS shop,” Staben said. “Every success I have as an NRO is directly related to the help of a volunteer.”

Some of the volunteer COPS shops are well staffed. For example, COPS Northwest at Shadle Center operates with 65 volunteers, council members were told.

Council members also heard reports from neighborhood council representatives.

Sue Patterson of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood asked council members to improve enforcement of city laws against operating unlicensed businesses, including continuing yard sales.

Sandy Gill of the North Hill Neighborhood called for the use of landscaping buffers when new commercial areas are developed next to existing residential areas along Division Street, Francis Avenue and other major arterials.

Karen Bell of the Northwest Neighborhood Association called on the council to develop a sports center at Albi Stadium that creates opportunities for lifelong sports such as bicycling and hiking. She said that undeveloped land adjacent to Albi could be purchased to create a recreation trail corridor between Albi and Riverside State Park. She said Albi would also make a good site for a new aquatics center.

In other business, the council set a public hearing for Monday on a proposed Park Place Annexation of 495 acres, which will include portions of Riverside State Park.

The annexation initially started with a 42-acre site proposed for development of 122 homes at an anticipated rate of a dozen homes a year through 2017. Total assessed value for the development could reach as high as $30 million. Population in the area is expected to eventually reach 300 or more residents.

The Boundary Review Board for Spokane County added adjacent open spaces, including a portion of the state park, to the boundaries of the annexation.