Spokane police report improved long‑term crime trends but flag staffing gaps; seek armored vehicle and NIBIN machine purchases

The Spokane Police Department told a City Council committee on May 5 that violent crime and property crime are down compared with five years ago, but the department is watching response-time trends and staffing vacancies that are limiting capacity.

Assistant Chief Matt Coles presented year‑to‑date statistics and longer‑term trends, and he described recruitment efforts and partnerships with local universities and community groups. He also presented two separate purchase requests: one to replace a BearCat‑style armored vehicle damaged last year, and another to acquire a National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) machine to analyze and link shell casings and bullets to firearms and investigations.

Crime and response-time trends

Coles said the department is “just within, well, just a few hundred calls for service related to last year,” and that the city is roughly on par with prior year service volumes. He flagged response time trends for priority‑one calls: "It looks like we're almost a full second slower compared to 2023," Coles said, adding staff will review staffing and precinct deployment for possible causes.

Coles pointed to longer‑range declines: he told the committee the department has seen an 83% decrease in criminal homicides compared with five years ago, a 15% decrease in violent crime and roughly a 26.7% drop in property crime across the same interval. He described ongoing work with Eastern Washington University to study why long‑term trends are improving.

Staffing, recruiting and community outreach

Coles said Spokane is actively recruiting across the Inland Northwest, including skill‑bridge military partnerships, and that recent recruiting events at universities have increased candidate flow and diversity in the recruiting cadre. The department reported roughly 20 vacancies in the last hour of the committee session; staff said they are working with civil‑service to accelerate candidate lists and background checks.

The department also described outreach and training sessions for community groups and invited local oversight groups — such as the police ombudsman and the Spokane Human Rights Commission — to observe use‑of‑force training and other operational practices.

Armored vehicle replacement and NIBIN purchase

Coles presented a proposed purchase of a Teradyne armored vehicle to replace a department vehicle that was damaged in a collision. The department plans to fund the $430,000 purchase from state seizure funds that must be used for law‑enforcement activity; Coles said the damaged vehicle has been slated for parts or scrap because transportation and disposition costs make repair impractical. "A very good question ... it is very similar to the Bearcat," Coles said, describing the Teradyne model.

The department also requested purchase of a NIBIN ballistic‑linking system priced at roughly $357,000, with the contract to be paid over five years. The initial payment requested from available federal law‑enforcement funds was about $60,000. Coles said an on‑site NIBIN unit would accelerate forensic processing (currently sent to the state laboratory), let Spokane and Spokane County technicians input evidence directly, and speed links between separate shooting incidents.

Budget and procurement context

Committee members asked about where the purchases fit against other capital needs and how longer‑term payments for equipment will be funded. Coles said the vehicle replacement and NIBIN purchase would be funded with designated enforcement funds and federal program money, and that the department would return with procurement paperwork and payment schedules. No committee vote was recorded in the transcript.

Ending

Council members requested more detail on the timing and funding for the purchases and on department plans to address response‑time trends. Officers said they would supply the requested procurement documentation and follow up on vacancy and academy scheduling.