SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. – According to Spokane County’s Detention Services Dashboard, there have been 23 instances of “Red Light Status” in the last 30 days, totalling 125 total hours.
In Spokane County’s glossary of terms, Red Light Status “represents periods of times when the jail booking area is closed to Law Enforcement for new inmate intakes due to overcapacity or jail security issues.”
“Primarily, when we started seeing red light status, it was, you know, 5 or 6 years ago when the jail population was beyond capacity at both Geiger and the Downtown Jail,” Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said.
But in 2025, Nowels explained, that’s changed.
“For about the past year, most of the red light statuses are caused by, what we would describe as a staffing issue,” Nowels said.
Chief of Detention Don Hooper described the staffing concerns at the Jail as “a staffing emergency.”
Hooper explained that while shifts start with a full roster, emergencies can pull staff away, and once enough detention staff is utilized for emergencies, Red Light Status is activated.
Nowels and Hooper sat down with Non Stop Local to discuss the capacity
“They’re having to shut down the booking area to have staff go into the upper floors and deal with any kind of emergencies,” Nowles said.
Sheriff Nowels explained that medical emergencies, exacerbated by the opioid epidemic, also contribute to red light status as staff accompany inmates to the hospital.
Despite the booking area closing during Red Light Status, Nowels and Hooper say arrests continue, and if the jail is under red light status, officers have to wait to bring in the individuals they have arrested.
Nowels explained officers are not turned away during this time.
“It just means you are going to have to wait whatever the prescribed amount of time is to deal with the staffing issue,” Nowels said.
Spokane County’s detention dashboard shows 23 red light status instances in the last month, totaling 124 hours.
“They publicly report that the jail has been on red light status 20% of the hours in the last month,” Spokane Councilman Zack Zappone said.
Hooper explained that he has asked for an audit of the numbers on the dashboard.
“23 in a month doesn’t surprise me,” Hooper said. “120 hours or whatever, that was surprising.
Hooper explained the average duration of red light status ranges from 30 minutes to two hours.
Non Stop Local asked Hooper and Nowels how red light statuses could be decreased.
They explained that hiring more staff to fill 21 vacant positions is a key step in reducing red light status occurrences.
Prior to speaking with Non Stop Local, both the city and the county released statements on the Jail.
