Spokane County officials point to fentanyl surge, expand treatment and surveillance investments

Spokane County Sheriff John Knowles told County Commissioner Al French on the Oct. 11 Spokane County Spotlight program that fentanyl-related overdoses are driving a sharp rise in fatal and nonfatal overdose incidents and stretching local emergency and public safety resources.

“Fentanyl is so potent and is so deadly,” Spokane County Sheriff John Knowles said, adding that inconsistent dosing means many users “end up taking fatal doses…inadvertently.” The county’s data, Commissioner Al French said on the program, shows a fivefold increase in naloxone deployments and rising overdose-related calls over the last several years.

The discussion matters because the county’s response combines law-enforcement actions with treatment and prevention. French noted investments by the Board of County Commissioners in a Real Time Crime Center, “camera on wheels” patrol vehicles, a new analyst position to support regional task forces, and an upgraded sheriff’s helicopter. Knowles said those tools have strengthened surveillance, aided narcotics investigations and helped reduce some quality-of-life crimes in both city and unincorporated areas.

Knowles described enforcement and prevention as parallel strategies. On enforcement, he said the sheriff’s office is targeting mid- to upper-level trafficking through the Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement and Narcotics Task Force (Raven) and federal partnerships. On prevention, he highlighted a local public education partnership, SAFE (Spokane Alliance for Fentanyl Education), that runs youth summits and school programs aimed at warning students about counterfeit pills that often contain fentanyl.

The sheriff credited county-funded programs for expanding treatment access. He said the county funded additional treatment beds at the STARS facility and invested in a regional crisis relief center offering up to 23-hour sobering services. “This investment in the Stabilization Center and then now in this STAR Center, is critical to us,” Knowles said, adding those options reduce reliance on jail and give people a place to receive care.

Knowles also described operational benefits from the Real Time Crime Center, which can link with private and school camera feeds through the Spokane Sentinel system. He said having RTCC analysts allowed officers to identify a false school-shooting report at Ridgeline High School before officers deployed, avoiding disruption and trauma to students.

Questions of funding and capacity remained central. Knowles said staffing and downstream criminal-justice capacity are pressing needs: “How do we make sure everything happens after arrest is funded appropriately and we have outcomes…that are good for our community?” He asked for continued investment in officer training and resources while stressing the role of treatment and diversion.

The officials acknowledged broader legal and policy constraints. Knowles referenced a Washington State Supreme Court decision that affected felony possession statutes and said legislative changes so far “are not enough to deter people from using drugs,” framing that as one factor in local overdose trends.

County officials identified near-term priorities including sustaining funding for the RTCC analyst position assigned to Raven, maintaining and expanding sobering and treatment bed capacity, and ensuring school-based resource deputies and prevention programs such as SAFE continue. No formal vote or ordinance was recorded during the broadcast; French and Knowles described prior Board investments and ongoing program implementation rather than proposing an immediate new action on air.

Looking ahead, Knowles said his most urgent needs for 2025 are continued funding for personnel, training and treatment capacity to keep up with rising calls for service and to reduce repeat involvement in the criminal-justice system.