SPOKANE — Spokane-area law enforcement will be able to take on high rates of auto theft thanks to money from the state Legislature.
The Spokesman-Review reported that the 2016 supplemental budget included $100,000 each for Spokane police, Spokane Valley police and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office for a task force to fight auto theft and other property crime.
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich says property crime in the area is a major problem, with some groups that track statistics ranking Spokane as high as number 6 in the nation for auto theft and Washington number one for property crime.
Knezovich says the state funding came as a surprise and that he didn’t know about it until reading it in the newspaper.
The funding would be a one-time appropriation and officials are still deciding how to use the money.
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