Safer Spokane

Safer Spokane

Officer T. Leming, PIO

Wednesday, September 30, 2026 at 2:40 p.m.

The numbers tell the story: Spokane is safer today than it has been in the past seven years. Beginning in 2025, the Spokane Police Department developed and started implementing a comprehensive crime reduction strategy to improve safety for all of Spokane. SPD will continue to build on that progress by putting greater attention on a problem that carries an enormous cost for families and neighborhoods: gun violence.

SPD has released Safer Spokane: A Community Safety Strategy, which lays out the department's approach to reducing serious violence during 2026 and 2027. The strategy is based on the premise that violence, particularly gun violence, is not spread evenly across the city. Certain locations experience higher rates of violence than others, and a small number of individuals create or are involved in a disproportionate amount of violence, either as victims, offenders, or both. Knowing the underlying theory of crime concentration allows SPD to intervene intentionally in those places and with those people, while also applying prevention strategies to prevent future shootings. At its core, this is precision policing.

"We've made real, tangible progress reducing both property and violent crime, but the work is not finished," Police Chief Kevin Hall said. "A shooting changes lives and neighborhoods in a matter of seconds. If we have credible evidence as to where violence is occurring, and know the people and circumstances driving it, and possess the evidence about what works, we are obligated to put that knowledge to use."

Safer Spokane focuses this work on three areas: Places, People, and Community.

SPD will use crime data and problem-oriented policing to target the specific places and people most affected by gun violence, focusing on prevention and accountability rather than broad neighborhood-wide enforcement. Because lasting reductions require more than policing, the department will work with residents, businesses, service providers, and community organizations to support people at risk and make public spaces safer.

The strategy also represents a shift in how SPD will measure success. Arrests, calls for service, and enforcement activity are traditional outputs that tell only part of the story.

The more important metrics are outcomes: fewer people being shot, fewer families experiencing a traumatic loss, and neighborhoods becoming safer.

This strategy is a living document, rather than a static plan. The department will systematically review crime data, trends, and patterns to identify emerging problems, and iterate based on evidence and results. Community feedback is always welcome.

The complete Safer Spokane: A Community Safety Strategy is available on the Spokane Police Department website.

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