Law officer training boosts economy

Out-of-town cops are spending lots of money in Spokane.

Millions of dollars are being brought into the area because the Spokane County sheriff is hosting more and more training sessions for his own officers, and bringing in officers from all over the region and the nation to benefit, as well.

“I said I wanted to have the best-trained agency in the state, and they did it,” Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said. “We can’t be professional if we aren’t training.”

This week the Sheriff’s Office hosted a two-day class on Tasers attended by 30 Washington officers, including some from Lacey, Pasco, Ellensburg, Ephrata and Wapato. Out-of-town agencies paid $275 for each officer they registered for the class, and the Spokane Regional Visitors and Convention Bureau figures each attendee spent another $430 while here.

A three-day federal training session earlier this month brought more than 100 out-of-town officers to Northern Quest Casino, and they likely spent nearly $100,000, the visitors bureau estimates.

And there are more than 40 more classes being hosted by the Sheriff’s Office before the end of the year.

Though the economic impact doesn’t measure up to the level of hosting “Antiques Roadshow” or the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, it’s a boost nevertheless, tourist officials say.

The training sessions have been hosted in a variety of locations, including Northern Quest, Spokane Community College, Spokane Police Academy and CenterPlace.

Lee Cameron, general manager of Spokane Valley Mirabeau Hotel and a member of Spokane Valley’s tourism board, estimated that over the course of a year, the economic impact in Spokane Valley was $1.5 million.

“I know our hotels are happy, and our fast-food places,” said sheriff’s Deputy David Ellis, who has helped bring training to the area.

After word came down from Knezovich about increasing training sessions, Ellis, Sgt. Tom Thompson and Deputy Mark Gregory immediately worked to make connections with other law enforcement agencies and trainers to establish Spokane as a training hub, the sheriff said.

“Ellis makes contacts, then those contacts snowball, and the training explodes exponentially,” said Thompson, who oversees the Sheriff’s Office training.

The amount of training offered by the Sheriff’s Office went from seven classes in 2006 to 39 in 2007.

Thompson said residents benefit two ways: economically, and with more skilled law officers.

The officer training budget is about $100,000. “We haven’t necessarily seen a savings, but we have been able to stretch those dollars a lot further,” Thompson said.

“We have been very excited about the program, and it’s taken off even faster than we anticipated,” Thompson said.