Sherman substation suggested
KEITH COUSINS/Staff writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 9 months AGO
COEUR d'ALENE - In an effort to increase law enforcement visibility throughout Coeur d'Alene, the police department is proposing the creation of more substations.
It wants to start with east Sherman Avenue.
"East Sherman was the most obvious place for us to start," said Sgt. Christie Wood. "It's such a mixture of interstate travelers, businesses, bars, restaurants and neighborhoods. Our crime lab program gave us a good indicator of places to address and east Sherman was high on the list."
The Coeur d'Alene Police Department has been looking at the creation of some new substations in the city for a while, Wood said. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, she said they looked to Spokane - which has multiple substations in neighborhoods throughout the city - as an example of how to implement the program.
As part of an agreement with St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho, the city would not pay rent to locate the substation at the former Star Motel on Sherman Avenue, where the nonprofit's Star Haven Traditional Housing facility is now located.
Despite the free rent, interim Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Ron Clark said, during a budget planning meeting earlier this week, that an estimated $30,000 is needed in order to remodel the building and extend fiber optic cables needed for the department to transmit data.
If the substation becomes a reality, Wood said a variety of personnel would be assigned to the building and would respond to any reports in the east Sherman area. Personnel would also be on hand to discuss any incidents or concerns brought to them at the station.
"We used to be located downtown, but when we moved north we didn't have any footprints there anymore," Wood said. "This small, small facility would improve our visibility and integrate us into neighborhoods like we want to."
Wood added that the process to get the substation approved is still in its infancy. But according to Wood, if the substation becomes a reality, it will go hand-in-hand with the department's focus on "intel-led policing."
"It's very exciting," Wood said. "It has incredible potential."
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