(The Center Square) – Overall crime in the city of Spokane fell more than 22% between 2019 and 2025, with property crime dropping by more than a quarter, according to a new Spokane Police Department report.
But while several major crime categories declined, the number of citywide shootings actually increased for the third consecutive year in 2025, and SPD said that gun violence remains one of its primary public-safety concerns.
“We’ve made real, tangible progress reducing both property and violent crime, but the work is not finished,” Police Chief Kevin Hall said in a press release.
“A shooting changes lives and neighborhoods in a matter of seconds. If we have credible evidence as to where violence is occurring, and know the people and circumstances driving it, and possess the evidence about what works, we are obligated to put that knowledge to use.”
The numbers were released as part of SPD’s new Safer Spokane: Community Safety Strategy, which outlines the department’s plan for both reducing and preventing crime.
Spokane City Councilmember Paul Dillon told The Center Square that the overall crime numbers are encouraging.
“It is welcome news – these are positive trends that indicate we are moving in the right direction; however there’s still more work to do,” Dillon said.
Spokane recorded 23,282 person and property crimes in 2025, compared with 29,987 in 2019, a 22.4% decline.
Officials said crime was also down 14.4% from 2024, when the city recorded a total of 27,186 offenses.
Property crime accounted for much of the decline, with crimes falling from 23,245 in 2019 to 17,169 in 2025, which is a 26.1% decrease.
Several individual crime categories also saw big drops. Motor vehicle theft fell 37.1%, from 1,328 cases in 2019 to 835 in 2025.
Burglaries declined 34.4%, from 1,874 to 1,229, while robberies fell 15.6%, from 321 to 271.
As for “on-person” crimes, they declined 9.3%, from 6,742 in 2019 to 6,113 in 2025. Aggravated assaults fell 5.6%, while reported rapes declined 20.1%.
The numbers are not uniformly trending downward because SPD identified firearm-related violence as a real concern in its new strategy.
Firearm-related violent crime did decline in 2025, but the department said the most serious gun violence, like nonfatal shootings with and without injury and fatal shootings, remained fairly stable over the past three years.
Dillon said gun violence remains an area where the city cannot become complacent.
“We are seeing improvements in gun violence prevention but one death is always one too many,” he said.
The SPD data shows citywide shootings increased from 153 in 2023 to 157 in 2024 and 164 in 2025.
Of the 164 shootings reported in 2025, 122 were classified as nonfatal shootings without injury, 33 were nonfatal shootings with injury and nine were fatal shootings.
Looking at 2024, there were 101 nonfatal shootings without injury, 46 nonfatal shootings with injury and a total of 10 fatal shootings. The broader category of violent crime involving a firearm also increased during pandemic years.
SPD recorded 202 violent crimes involving a firearm in 2019, compared with 327 in 2023 and 328 in 2024. In 2025, the number dropped to 272.
“Due to the troubling trend of gun violence driven primarily by networked individuals, SPD’s community safety strategy currently focuses on violent crimes, especially those involving firearms,” the report states.
“However, the strategies outlined in the plan apply to all crime types, and broad community safety can be achieved by implementing them effectively. SPD will continue to monitor crime trends and update the community safety strategy should other crime types show noteworthy increases.”
SPD said the violence is disproportionately associated with young offenders where around 150 juveniles and young adults were arrested in connection with 326 shooting, robbery or aggravated-assault offenses between 2018 and 2025. The department also identified 83 individuals who were listed in 91 shooting, robbery or aggravated-assault cases.
Looking beyond those violent offenses, SPD identified 264 people who were involved in 3,702 unique case reports, 1,054 arrests, 256 tickets or citations and 80 accident reports.
SPD said the strategy is built around three evidence-based approaches: hot-spots policing, place-based problem-solving and focused deterrence.
Hot-spots policing concentrates officers in small areas experiencing repeated crime. Place-based problem-solving focuses on identifying conditions that contribute to crime at particular locations and working with other partners to address them. Focused deterrence is designed to target individuals and social networks.
SPD said it has not yet started implementing focused deterrence. The department’s newly formed Gun Crime Unit will eventually coordinate the strategy, but funding for a full-time project manager is still needed. The hope is to start this by the end of 2027.
Councilmember Michael Cathcart told The Center Square that he believes some strategies outlined by SPD are consistent with approaches the city has already been using.
Cathcart also raised concerns about shifting some responsibilities for public safety beyond traditional policing.
“I get very nervous as we start pushing more of what is supposed to be a public policing response onto others and the potential for very, very negative ramifications that could come from that,” Cathcart said.
SPD’s strategy calls for partnerships between police and city departments, service providers, community organizations, businesses, schools and faith-based organizations.
The department has also launched three pilot place-based problem-solving projects in areas with chronic violent crime. SPD said it is too early to determine whether those projects will produce long-term reductions in crime.
The department’s goal is to reduce violent gun crime by 10% by December 2026.
Dillon also advocated for a broader approach to violence prevention, including resources outside traditional police response.
The Center Square reached out to the Spokane Police Department for additional comment on the strategy and the concerns raised by council members but did not receive a response.