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Summer is here and with it comes longer days for everyone - particularly
members of the new Spokane Valley Police Department.
The long-anticipated contract between the city and the Spokane
County Sheriff's Office took effect June 1. On May 29, city of Spokane
Valley City Manager David Mercier announced that Cal Walker had
been selected as the city's inaugural police chief.
The arrangement now means 12-hour shifts - instead of 10 - for
city officers as well as county deputies working outside city limits.
Officials say the change was made necessary in order to provide
an adequate level of service within the new city as well as in unincorporated
areas of Spokane County.
Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk said that, contrary to public
opinion, no additional hirings have taken place to accommodate law
enforcement needs in the new city.
"News accounts made it sound like we had increased our numbers
of employees with the change to contract policing of the city of
Spokane Valley," he said. "In fact, we have more people
working both areas today because of reallocation of resources and
shifting of responsibilities."
Walker will report directly to city officials regarding his department's
activities. As a result of a decision by city officials, patrol
officers will now take on traffic functions - a responsibility once
held by a dedicated traffic unit.
"There's a real spirit of excitement out there, even though
there's a lot of change," Walker said. "Right now, the
challenge is getting through the massive amount of changes and the
stress involved with hundreds of employees and their families. We
need to provide them with solid ground for a while."
Because officers are now working two additional hours per day -
or night as the case may be - both city and county forces are operating
on two shifts per day, instead of three. The change translates into
an additional half a dozen employees working each remaining shift.
City police officers will soon be patrolling the streets in cars
affixed with the city logo. Patches will also be worn on officer
uniforms to distinguish them from county deputies.
"We need to make the community feel that they have their own
resource to address their needs," Walker said.
Sterk has expressed concern with the level of service currently
provided to unincorporated areas throughout the county. The national
average for law enforcement agencies is 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents
served. While the level of service in the new city stands at 1.49
officers per 1,000 - the ratio in unincorporated areas is .97 per
1,000.
"We are doing more without costing more, but I feel like we
can do better," Sterk said. "Deputies who previously worked
in the Spokane Valley are no longer free to patrol or backup fellow
employees outside city limits and we need to work on that."
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