SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane police launched a new program to help reduce car thefts around the city.
The Spokane Combats Auto Theft program allows vehicle owners to voluntarily enroll their cars to be pulled over during the hours between 1 and 5 a.m. to make sure they haven’t been stolen.
The vehicle owner will sign a waiver and they will receive a ‘Spokane Combats Auto Theft’ decal to put in their rear window. Police said the waivers are filed with the Spokane Police Department’s records bureau and an alert with the license plate number is entered into the system.
Officers who see the car with the sticker being driven from 1 to 5 a.m. will verify that the car is registered in the program. SPD will try to contact the owner of the car by phone. The officer will also stop the car to confirm it wasn’t stolen.
Car owners must notify the department before sale, transfer or disposal of the car.
Anyone interested in participating in the program must visit SPD’s North Precinct/C.O.P.S Northeast at 5124 North Market Street to complete a waiver and get a decal. All of the listed registered owners of the car must be present to sign the waiver and agree to participate.
Spokane police said the program is modeled after similar programs in other cities, both in Washington and elsewhere in the United States.