It is our goal to provide timely information of value to the community, while complying with public disclosure laws and protecting the integrity of criminal investigations.  The Spokane Police Department is a primary source of news in the Spokane community.  Like news media, the Spokane Police Department operates 24/7, 52 weeks a year.

The primary point of contact for any media related inquiries is Officer Jennifer DeRuwe. 

She can be reached at 509-625-4068 or 509-209-7178.

Our Media Relations Office offers a unique resource—Team PIO. These are officers that volunteer for the additional duty of disseminating information at a scene. Our Patrol PIO’s are assigned to a rotating patrol schedule with a primary responsibility of handling calls for service. In addition to routine patrol, these officers have agreed to be available to respond to media requests. By doing this, our agency has committed to remaining accessible during all hours of the day.

These officers are often the first to respond to a scene, have the most current information and have been authorized to speak on behalf of the police department. Patrol PIO’s write and send press releases with updates of incidents that have occurred within the City of Spokane. A roster of available team PIO’s and their cell phone numbers are provided to a Media distribution list weekly. By utilizing this roster, media will have a faster, more accurate status of events. These officers may need to stabilize a situation prior to responding to the media’s request. They may not be able to verify scanner traffic immediately, but will certainly take a moment to assist you as soon as they are able to do so.

If the media arrives on a scene and there is not a designated PIO, we encourage media to contact the incident commander, who is also authorized to provide you with information. Typically, this will be a sergeant or lieutenant. With the new age of technology, Officer DeRuwe has agreed to receive and review text messages until late evening, to facilitate the rapid need for information.

The weekend shift commanders and team PIO’s are responsible for releasing requested information during the weekend and late night hours. This information will be case specific and provided once primary patrol tasks are completed. The full time PIO is not routinely available, unless they have been requested by a department supervisor. As a reminder, the PIO’s will only have access to City of Spokane calls for service. Information customarily provided during the week won’t be available on the weekends. Examples would include crime statistics or case updates. These requests may be made via voicemail or email to the primary PIO when they return to work.

SPD Major Crimes Detectives are skilled investigators who strive to gather the majority of information within the first 24 hours of an investigation.  MCU works high profile and time sensitive cases and are often rapidly chasing leads and may not be accessible to media. Having a media plan is recognized by the incident commander.  Media requests will be handled by the scene supervisor or PIO.  Available information will be released as it pertains to the safety of the community.  The first priority is scene preservation and apprehension of suspects.  Detectives understand and may utilize media resources to further their investigation.

If an area is safe for the media, it must also be safe for the public.  However, in some cases, media may be allowed into a restricted area for better access.  SPD asks media cooperation in working with officers at a crime scene before the perimeter is set.  Allowance into a restricted area will be on a case by case basis and may be limited to one pool cameraman/reporter and media credentials would be required.  A media area will be established during significant events.  In this scenario, media will be given frequent updates at this single predetermined location.