Spokane County Sheriff

Every Sheriff’s Deputy in Spokane County will soon have a body worn camera, a purchase law enforcement and public officials say will make policing more transparent.

On Tuesday Spokane Valley City Council unanimously voted to divide the cost of purchasing body worn cameras with the county. That vote means the Sheriff’s Office has the funds to equip every deputy with a camera by the end of this year.

“This is a tool that will serve as good insurance for our office, to be able to protect them and highlight the good work that they’re doing.”

With summer now officially here, Avista and the Spokane County sheriff’s office are reminding people to be careful on the water this summer.

Deputy Jim Ebel coordinates the marine enforcement division for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. He says local ordinances require people who use the Spokane River  to wear life jackets. But he says only about half do.

As a general rule, budget hearings for government agencies do not make for scintillating news. But this year, the Spokane county commissioners are bringing a little drama to the process.

The Spokane County commissioners have warned that next year’s budget will be a lean one. State law allows them to go to the voters if they want to raise county property taxes by more than one percent. But they say they won’t do that because the state is going to impose its own property tax increase.

Commissioner Al French says the county will have to cut spending or find new sources of revenue to fill an estimated $9.5 million shortfall. The sheriff has been asked to trim his budget. But at a budget hearing last night (Tuesday), advocates said the commissioners have cut law enforcement enough.

The Coast Guard is enforcing new standards that require many boat owners around the nation to get new hull identification numbers, or HINs, for their boats. A HIN is the nautical version of the vehicle identification number, or the VIN, on a car or truck.