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Spokane police: continue ban on high-alcohol drinks

The Columbian
Published: April 21, 2015, 5:00pm

Spokane police hope the state Liquor Control Board will continue to ban the sale of certain high-alcohol beverages in the downtown area, though department data about the ban’s effectiveness is limited.

Since 2010, Spokane’s downtown core — the area bounded roughly by Scott Street, Spokane Falls Boulevard, Cannon Street and Fifth Avenue — has been a designated Alcohol Impact Area where sale of high-octane beer and wine products is banned. East Central received the same designation in 2012.

Downtown, sales of 46 low-cost, high-alcohol products are currently banned. That includes Keystone Ice, Steel Reserve and Mike’s Harder Lemonade.

Spokane Police Sgt. Sam Yamada said at a Public Safety Committee meeting on Monday the program has shown results in curbing calls for service directly related to alcohol consumption, though other calls for service have increased.

Downtown, police received just 55 calls for liquor violations like open containers in public last year, down from 144 in 2010. Calls to evaluate whether intoxicated people needed to be taken to detox were also down from a high of 280 in 2011 to 134 last year, though incidents where fire and police officers transported people to detox increased in 2014.

But police department data shows calls for a wider range of 12 offenses associated with chronic public drunkenness increased about 4 percent last year, to 7,980 total calls. That includes calls for arguments, disorderly conduct, trespassing, suspicious persons and lewd conduct.

East Central calls for service showed similar trends, with decreases in liquor violations and detox calls, but overall increases across a broader group of 12 offenses.

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