Rise in crime on Pullman’s College Hill

Reports of crime on Pullman’s College Hill have increased by 18.5 percent during the past four years, according to figures presented by Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins during a Tuesday night joint meeting of the Associated Students of Washington State University and Pullman City Council at City Hall.

In 2012, police were dispatched to 3,415 incidents in the College Hill neighborhood, but so far this year that number already stands at 4,048.

Jenkins said the increase in crime stems from an increase in population.

“For the last few years we’ve seen population increases in university students, (and) we’ve seen increases in local employers like Schweitzer and the school district,” Jenkins said. “It’s really a factor of increase in population, and we’ve only added one officer since 2001 and the population has increased about 35 percent since then.”

He said it’s getting to the point the department will likely need more police officers soon.

“We really need to start looking at more staffing to stay up with the population increases,” Jenkins said. “I want to keep saying yes to requests for things to provide to the community, but we’re getting right to the point where we can’t take on any more.”

Pullman Fire Chief Mike Heston said his department has also had an increase in calls on College Hill. This past year calls are up 10 percent.

During the meeting, Pullman Planning Director Pete Dickinson gave the senators and councilors an update on marijuana in the city.

Dickinson said Pullman’s last potential shops are slated to go in off of Stadium Way, and the two will operate out of the same building, a grain elevator located near McDonald’s. If the shops are approved they would be Pullman’s last marijuana retailers allocated by the state.

ASWSU senators discussed how the campus smoking ban was going and the need for new sidewalks on College Hill.

All-Campus Senator Kyle Simonson said he’s pleased with the work on some sidewalks but the city needs to do more to fix the crumbling walkways, noting the neighborhood’s historical significance.

“With this being a historic place, the look of it doesn’t represent that,” Simonson said. “Many students have said they are unacceptable and many are trip-hazards . students don’t want to go down and clean because the sidewalks are too dangerous.” Public Works Director Kevin Gardes highlighted a number of projects scheduled next year for College Hill. He also mentioned a repaving of a portion of State Route 270.

Gardes said he knows there is work that needs to be done on College Hill, and one struggle is the city only has about $30,000 annually for sidewalk repairs.