Crime in Cheney declines

While even one report of a crime is one too many, Cheney Police Chief John Hensley is proud of the fact that reported incidents in the city last year dropped by 4.76 percent over 2017 totals.

“I think it reflects well on the community and the police department,” Hensley said in a March 4 interview. “I’m hoping that means our crime prevention efforts are paying off.”

Overall incidents from the Uniform Crime Report was 280 in 2018, compared with 294 in 2017. The city saw significant decreases in larceny, 134 reports from 159, and vehicle thefts, 21 reports in 2017 to just nine last year. There were no homicides or robberies, compared to 1 and 3 in 2017 respectively.

Some categories did see increases. Assaults jumped from 65 to 82 last year while burglaries increased from 36 to 44. Also up were rapes, 11 cases to nine in 2017.

Also increasing in 2018 were domestic violence reports, up 21.5 percent from 120 to 152, and violations of restraining orders, almost doubling from 14 to 23.

Hensley said the No. 1 problem in Cheney is domestic violence, something that has to do with the many variables such as types of relationships, more apartment dwellings than homes and roommate issues. It’s a situation not unique to Cheney as Pullman with Washington State University and Ellensburg with Central Washington University see similar problems.

“It’s (Cheney) a college town,” Hensley said of the home to Eastern Washington University. “We’re going to see that.”

Hensley said the department sees chronic domestic violence issues from several families in the city, with the rest often being roommate “squabbles.” Responding officers provide individuals with cards listing places where they can receive resources for counseling and other services, as well as working to diffuse situations onsite, working with people where possible to “slow down and work through” issues.

“It’s not ‘leave here tonight and don’t come back,’” Hensley said. “We don’t do that.”

Hensley believes the drop in reports is an indication of success in several areas. The first is the Volunteers in Policing program that provides support with things like making sure residents close their garage doors before leaving for work or setting up vacation checks while away.

The second is the department has been able to increase the number of officers in its ranks. Cheney currently has 17.5 officers for patrol work, the half being the school resource officer that is also paid for by the Cheney School District.

Cheney brought on one fulltime officer and one reserve in 2018, and added another officer recently as a lateral entry from the Liberty Lake police department. A third officer is finishing his training and will be able to begin solo patrol work shortly, with a fourth officer — also from Liberty Lake — beginning March 13.

The additions enable the department to now have two officers on duty during the day instead of one, and three on duty at night. It’s allowed officers to do more than just patrol main arterials, Hensley said.

“It’s not just about driving up and down 1st Street,” he said. “We can get these guys to get off of 1st and in to the neighborhoods where things like thefts occur.”

The department’s communications staff also handled fewer computer aided dispatch calls last year than in 2017, down 8.79 percent from 31,117 to 28,436. Dispatchers have also had to devote less time to processing warrants and no-contact orders as both have dropped in Cheney, even while they have increased with other departments that utilize Cheney’s data entry and storage system services.

Departments with annual contracts to use the services are Airway Heights, Eastern Washington University and the Kalispel Tribe of Indians.

As in several previous years, Cheney experienced several high-profile incidents in 2018, including an apparent suicide-by-police shooting, a beanbag shooting of an unarmed, developmentally-disabled man who appeared to be holding a pair of knives, and a drive-by style shooting at Zip’s Restaurant downtown.

While often generating unwanted attention, Hensley believes high-profile incidents and other issues in the city can be worked out if the community is willing to invest the time and money.

“Most of Cheney’s problems are solvable,” he said.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].