SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane Police Department (SPD) will begin enforcing the city's after-hours "Trespass in Parks" ordinance this weekend.
The new ordinance, passed by Spokane City Council in June, will go into effect this Sunday, July 30. City council passed the ordinance in response to an uptick in criminal incidents at Spokane's city parks.
In previous years, a violation of the after-hours rule resulted in a civil infraction, which the police department says didn't keep people from trespassing on city park property. Come Sunday, the violation will be reverted back to a misdemeanor, giving officers the authority to detain people from parks who may be committing crimes.
According to the city, no person may be in a city park or on park property after-hours without the permission of the Director of the Parks Department or his or her designee.
SPD says they will be partnering with park rangers to keep trespassers off city parks, which are closed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Riverfront Park is closed between midnight and 5 a.m. SPD and park rangers will be patrolling during those hours.
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