SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office will absorb a longtime volunteer police program that saves taxpayers an estimated $1 million annually, the Sheriff’s Office announced Monday.
The Sheriff’s Community Oriented Policing Effort, known as S.C.O.P.E., will merge with the sheriff’s office effective Jan. 1, 2026, under a mutual agreement signed Sept. 2 between the Spokane County Board of Commissioners, the S.C.O.P.E. Board and Sheriff John Nowels.
The organizational change is designed to enhance communication and efficiency while ensuring volunteers can continue their service without interruption, according to the announcement.
S.C.O.P.E. volunteers assist sheriff’s office deputies, detectives and administrative staff with various tasks including responding to scenes for traffic control, processing stolen vehicles for fingerprints and entering data. The volunteer work saves citizens more than $1 million per year.
“We want to assure everyone that S.C.O.P.E. will continue to provide significant cost savings and excellent service to the Citizens of Spokane County,” the announcement stated. “However, it will do so as part of the Sheriff’s Office, not as a separate organization.”
The nonprofit volunteer organization was founded in 1994 to help with crime prevention and facilitate community block watches. Since then, the program has expanded to include nearly 20 different programs, including Neighborhood Watch, School Patrols, Mounted Patrol and sheriff’s office support programs such as staffing the front desk.
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