The new, smaller council won't have as much representation from people of color and the people most impacted by the criminal justice system, some say. 

After months of serving as interim director of Washington state’s peace officer training arm, Monica Alexander, 59, was officially appointed to the role Wednesday.

A People for Effective Government panel discussed on Wednesday how the Spokane Police Department has evolved since the 2006 killing of Otto Zehm. 

Criminal justice reform advocates have strongly opposed a proposal to remove community representation from the Spokane Regional Law and Justice Council. Turning the council into two separate groups could serve as a compromise. 

The Spokane County Sheriff's Office has put up billboards in Denver, Portland and Seattle in an attempt to poach officers. Agencies across the nation are competing for cops. 

Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell wants to scale back the the regional Law and Justice Council, but reform advocates argue that would be a big step backwards for progress. 

Adding the technology will improve transparency and protect officers, officials say. 

Reform advocates say removing community voices is a big step backward. 

New Yorkers over the age of 21 can now possess and use up to 3 ounces of cannabis in public under a legalization bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, while sales of recreational-use marijuana won’t become legal for an estimated 18 months until the state draws up regulations.

The executive director of the state agency that trains peace officers announced Wednesday she is retiring at the end of February.

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich has filed a complaint against a state commission for rejecting his proposal to run a new law enforcement training academy.

Seven years ago, a retired judge, former federal prosecutor and defense attorney produced a report, based on volumes of data and lots of citizen input, recommending ways we could improve our criminal justice system.

Services provided by a signature programs in the Spokane Region's criminal justice reform efforts, the expansion of pretrial services, could soon end if Spokane County Commissioners or surrounding cities do not find funds to pay for the program before its grant funding expires.

On a hot June night in 2016, something woke Anne Walter from her sleep.

Although nonbinding, the resolution would lay out the city’s template for criminal justice reform, prioritizing efforts that reduce crime while emphasizing opportunities for diversion from jail and rehabilitation for defendants.

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers from the Inland Northwest are calling on leaders in the House of Representatives to allow votes on two bills to address violence against Native American women and girls, which despite bipartisan support have stalled as COVID-19 has thrown the legislative schedule into disarray.

Coyote Ridge now has more cases than any other Washington state prison.

The Airway Heights Corrections Center is being outfitted as one of two “regional care facilities” that will treat inmates diagnosed with COVID-19 if there is a spike in the number of cases within the state prison system. A spokesperson said the Airway Heights facility will have about 30 beds and “should be operational in the coming weeks.”