Proposed public safety policies developed by the Downtown Spokane Partnership should be offered by the organization and received by city policymakers in a spirit of collaboration, in order to keep the city’s core safe and clean, despite some potential sticking points in the recommendations.

DSP generated policy suggestions following a recent survey of its members. Upon analysis of the results, public opinion research firm EMC Research concludes, “downtown stakeholders are worried about the direction downtown is headed, pointing to a host of worsening safety and security challenges.” Most of the challenges are related to a small-but-increasingly visible population of people who are homeless or have addiction or mental health issues—and property crimes believed to be related to them.

While solutions might not be as straightforward as DSP’s policy suggestions, the survey findings lay out some hard truths that the city—and the state, in some cases—should address.

For example, some recommendations highlight where all parties should work with state government to improve legislation that impedes the ability to intervene in the lives of people who are struggling with mental illness and addiction. More specifically, recommendations to restore standards that enable proactive neighborhood policing and the ability to intervene in cases of open use of illicit and highly addictive drugs will require collaboration with the Legislature.

One area of contention in the policy recommendation will need more work regarding how to ensure the city can comply with 9th U.S. Circuit Court decision on Martin v. city of Boise. The ruling holds that cities can’t ban homeless people from areas when shelter space isn’t available.

Andrew Rolwes, DSP vice president of public policy, says the organization believes the city can enforce its “sit-lie” ordinance when shelter beds are available and thus remain compliant with the court ruling. The city’s 2013 ordinance was intended to prohibit homeless people from blocking public spaces and was designed to induce people with substance addictions, mental illness, and other health issues to accept services.

City Councilmember Lori Kinnear, however, says the city’s lawyers disagree with DSP’s take on the court decision, because Spokane has a chronic shortage of shelter beds, and she’s among councilmembers not willing to put the city up to the liability of going against its own legal advice.

“We can’t enforce any of this unless we have enough low-barrier shelters,” Kinnear contends.

She notes, however, funding is available in the city’s 2022 budget to purchase a site to open a new shelter facility.

A search for such a site is under way, which, hopefully, will enable enforcement of the ordinance. That can’t happen soon enough.

It also should be noted that the city has made progress in funding additional police officers, staffing the downtown precinct, identifying locations for emergency services outside of downtown, and encouraging a regional approach to homelessness—all during the pandemic—with support of DSP and other stakeholders.

In the Journal’s view, the city, DSP, service providers, and other stakeholders should continue to work together to improve perceptions of public safety downtown as they prepare for employees, customers, and visitors to return vibrancy to the city core.