Alex Reynolds, Community Programs Coordinator, 509.625.6147
Wednesday, November 22, 2017 at 10:30 a.m.
Updated: 2017-11-27
The City of Spokane is excited to announce that, in collaboration with the Spokane Police Department, it is launching a pilot program aimed at preventing crime afflicting downtown business owners. The City is pursuing this goal through a methodology know as Crime Prevention through Environmental Design, also known as CPTED (pronounced “SEP-TED”). CPTED is a holistic and innovative approach to crime prevention using a proven methodology. The result is manipulating the built environment in such a way that criminal activity is not conducive to the new environment, while making the area a more inviting and comfortable place for legitimate users.
The pilot will be conducted in multiple steps. The first step in the processes is the coordination of a CPTED review, which will be conducted by SPD officers who are certified as CPTED practitioners. These officers will meet business and/or property owners to discuss their concerns, and will then conduct an evaluation of the premises to advise on how best to adjust their environment, following up with a written report in 1-2 weeks. These reports address the CPTED principles: surveillance, access, territorial reinforcement, and maintenance.
Once the reports are received, the concerned property owner contacts the CPTED Spokane Project Coordinator and begins the process of completing a grant application.
The responding property owners complete the application including a work plan detailing which elements from SPD’s recommendations they wish to implement, along with quotes for the desired CPTED measures they wish to apply. Following approval from the CPTED Spokane Project Coordinator and a CPTED qualified SPD officer, the applicant is able to purchase their desired security measures, and will receive a 10 to 1 financial match. The maximum amount awarded will be $3,500 if the applicant invests at least $350. Due to limited funding the maximum award amount will be $3,500, and grants will cease to be awarded once designated funds have been depleted.
The current pilot is restricted to a two block radius (fig 1.) that is in the vicinity of Catholic Charities’ House of Charity, at 32 W Pacific Ave. The reason this area is being used as the pilot is due to SPD crime statistics showing the area to be a crime hot spot, and the high cost to tax payers of responding to public service calls in that area. Pending the outcome of this pilot, the City will consider a possible expansion of this program. Interested parties should contact the CPTED Spokane Project Coordinator, Alex Reynolds, at 509.625.6147, or areynolds@spokanecity.org.
