SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane’s Community Oriented Policing Services (C.O.P.S.) is looking for new sources of financial support after failing to renew their contract with the City of Spokane.
In a release from C.O.P.S. about the search for funding, Board Chairman Jim Wilson said that the organization is looking for funding so it can continue “indefinitely.”
“Currently, the COPS program has barely enough money to make it through the end of 2025,” Wilson said. “We will need a lot of help from the community if this program is going to continue. We are all volunteers. There is no paid staff.”
Wilson said that the program has about 100 volunteers and a reestablished Board of Directors under Wilson’s leadership.
Wilson said that Mayor Lisa Brown’s office broke off negotiations with C.O.P.S. over their contract “last July.”
However, Communications Director for the City of Spokane Erin Hut said the City had offered C.O.P.S. a contract, but that C.O.P.S. failed to sign by the deadline.
Hut said that the City Council approved contract extensions for C.O.P.S. on March 21, 2025 and notified the organization that they were selected for “Business Watch and Cocooning.”
Hut said that their contract offered less money due to City budget cuts and due to C.O.P.S.’ insufficient proposal for engagement with marginalized communities.
She also offered the following timeline:
On April 18, Hut said the City provided C.O.P.S. with a new contract. On April 23, Hut said the City met with the Board Chair and Executive Director at the request of C.O.P.S. to make revisions to the contract.
On May 14, Hut said the City provided C.O.P.S. with the updated contract.
C.O.P.S. had four months to sign the contract, but kept missing deadlines, according to Hut.
Hut said that by July 3, C.O.P.S. had failed to meet two deadlines, with extensions and further revisions granted by the City.
On July 8, the Board Chair requested more information from the Spokane Police Department, and Police Chief Kevin Hall met with them by the end of the week and Assistant Chief Cowles responded to them by the end of the day, according to Hut.
On July 9, the City notified C.O.P.S. that they had until the end of the day to respond about the contract or it would be directed to other parties, according to Hut.
C.O.P.S. is still hoping to continue their services to the community.
After losing City funds, they cut their budget to focus only on expenses for rent, utilities, insurance and basic operating costs, according to Wilson. Volunteers still serve many of C.O.P.S.’ programs like minor crime reports, bike registration, Block Watch program and observation patrols.
The organization also still has a contract with the Washington State Department of Corrections, which is paying them to provide office space to local DOC officers.
C.O.P.S. said it created a fundraising committee to contact local businesses and supporters to raise funds to keep the program in operation. The program is also seeking more volunteers for its six current locations, as well as volunteers to reopen other locations.
According to their website, C.O.P.S. focuses on problem solving by handling non-emergency calls and working to contribute to “a combined community-police effort” to restore safety to neighborhoods and business districts.
“The COPS program was established over thirty years ago following a community tragedy,” said Wilson. “Reduced staffing in the police department and increased property crime in our community shows the need for this valuable program to continue. It’s taken some time to gather everything back together, but now is the time to raise the money to keep the COPS program in place in Spokane.”
