SPOKANE, Wash. — The latest crime statistics from the Spokane Police Department show crime is down across the city but people on social media seem to think otherwise.
KREM published an article on Tuesday that said overall crime in the city of Spokane was down about 15 percent so far this year when compared to the same time period in 2018. The report from the Spokane Police Department looked at property crime and violent crime.
Many people on Facebook and Reddit who reacted to this story said they have stopped reporting crimes to Crime Check because they say law enforcement doesn't always investigate.
This isn’t a new claim and it’s something KREM has been working to verify.
KREM has made public records requests for the number of calls to Crime Check. Crime Check calls aren’t just for the City of Spokane; it includes the entire county.
KREM has also asked the Spokane Police Department and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office for how many reports law enforcement officers have taken based on a call to Crime Check. Those requests are still in progress.
KREM has received annual reports from Spokane County that break down Crime Check calls and reports. The reports show that the number of calls to Crime Check has slightly increased between 2016 and 2018, but the number of reports has slightly decreased.
It's important to note that these numbers don't mean that police haven't investigated these Crime Check claims. Sometimes a Crime Check call does not warrant a report, or multiple people call about one incident.
The data shows, by year:
In 2016, Spokane County’s annual report said there were 247,795 calls to Crime Check but only 56,289 reports made. That means 22.7 percent of calls resulted in a report.
In 2017, the number of calls to Crime Check increased to 249,683. But, the number of reports dropped to 52,055. The number of reports dropped to 20.8 percent.
In 2018, Crime Check calls increased again to 276,790 calls. The number of Crime Check reports also dropped to 49,573. The number of calls that resulted in reports also dropped to 17.9 percent.
We can’t determine what this will mean for 2019, since the data won't be released until 2020. But from Jan. 1, 2019 to June 18, 2019, there have been 138,201 calls to Crime Check, which is about on par to previous years.
If you'd like to look at the annual 911/Crime Check report yourself, click here.