SPOKANE -- Police are attacking vehicle thefts and burglaries in a new way. There is now a series of emphasis patrols designed to keep neighborhoods safe.
Patrol officers are now branching off into teams, one or two on each shift. Some will be in uniform, others will be in plain clothes. Their job is to patrol hot-spots which are areas that have seen a lot of problems. Car thefts alone nearly doubled last month. They'll also be checking on prolific criminals who've been released. It used to be these kinds of patrols were only done when officers had time. Now they're an ordered daily function.
The department will run the daily patrols through January then take a look at how successful they've been to decide whether or not to continue.
