Crime Check Changes
Beginning October 27, 2026, non-emergency police and fire calls for incidents within City of Spokane limits will transition from Crime Check to the City’s 311 system. This is the first operational phase of the City’s move to establish its own emergency communications center, Spokane United Network 911, or SUN 911.
For emergencies, continue to call 911.
The following cities and towns will continue using Crime Check at 509-456-2233:
For emergencies, continue to call 911.
The following cities and towns will continue using Crime Check at 509-456-2233:
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Unincorporated Spokane County will also continue using Crime Check. The location of the incident determines which service to use.
How did we get here?
SREC was established in 2018 to bring emergency communications together under a shared regional system, improving coordination and reducing duplication. The City participated in planning but withdrew before SREC began operations in 2019. Other regional agencies moved forward.
Spokane Fire joined SREC in 2022 amid staffing shortages that prevented the City from maintaining its fire dispatch operations. Spokane Police maintained separate call-taking and dispatch operations. SREC has continued answering incoming 911 calls countywide, transferring City police calls to SPD dispatchers and providing Spokane Fire dispatch and Crime Check services.
For more than seven years, SREC worked with City leaders across multiple administrations to pursue full participation. Discussions addressed governance, funding, service levels, and the transition of Spokane Police dispatch.
In 2024, SREC asked the City to decide whether to join fully or establish its own system. A new regional dispatch platform and facility required decisions about staffing, technology, space, and funding. Either path required preparation, and continued uncertainty affected planning for the entire region.
Representation and governance
The City held two seats on SREC’s governing board and was offered a third for the Spokane Police Chief if SPD joined. Full participation would have given the City more direct board seats than any other participating agency.
The City also proposed a separate executive group that included elected officials and would control financial decisions, while SREC’s Board would oversee operations. SREC’s Board and Spokane County declined that approach.
SREC’s governance structure was designed around those closest to the work, including police and fire chiefs who understand emergency response and how financial decisions affect operations. The Board supported keeping those responsibilities connected and decisions grounded in public safety expertise and regional needs, rather than political priorities.
The decision to separate
While participation discussions continued, SREC discovered that the City had been working on HB 1258 to direct a portion of local 911 excise-tax funding to its separate emergency communications operations.
The SREC Board viewed this action as evidence that the City was preparing for an independent system rather than committing to regionalization. That discovery was the determining factor in the Board’s January 2025 vote to end participation discussions and move toward full separation .
Subsequent mediation did not resolve the differences, and SREC issued formal notice terminating its Spokane Fire service agreement in June 2025.
Funding services and planning ahead
SREC is funded through three primary sources: the 911 excise tax, the 1/10th of 1 percent emergency communications sales tax, and member-agency user fees.
The 911 tax on phone bills does not cover the full cost of emergency communications. Washington’s 2020 legislative cost study found that state and local 911 excise taxes covered approximately 30% of statewide operating costs during the period studied. User fees and other local funding help cover the remaining costs.
The City and SREC disagreed on how to budget for services and future needs. The City wanted to eliminate user fees and questioned the amount SREC held in reserves. SREC’s Board preferred saving for planned expenses, including a new facility, dispatch technology, and infrastructure improvements, to limit borrowing and help manage future costs for member agencies.
User fees are a common, established funding model for emergency communications centers across Washington and nationwide. SREC remains open to alternative approaches that sustainably fund services and fairly serve all participating agencies, and is currently conducting a study to evaluate its user fee and cost allocation model.
SREC continues to receive clean financial audits from the Washington State Auditor’s Office, with its fourth consecutive clean audit covering the 2024 reporting cycle.
Technology and separate investments
The City participated in planning for the regional computer-aided dispatch, or CAD, system before declining participation. It subsequently selected the same CAD platform but chose to purchase it separately.
From SREC’s perspective, separate purchasing and ongoing support duplicate investments that regional participation was intended to share. The Board continues to support shared technology investments to strengthen service and use taxpayer resources efficiently.
Emergency communications is more than answering calls
SREC operates and maintains the technology connecting callers, dispatchers, and first responders—including dispatch software, a regional radio system with 23 tower sites, and more than 5,000 radios used by participating agencies.
This infrastructure helps responders communicate with dispatch and one another across jurisdictional boundaries. During large-scale emergencies like the recent Spokane Complex Fires, those connections are critical to coordinating resources, sharing rapidly changing information, and protecting responders and the public. Keeping the system reliable requires ongoing maintenance, investment, and planning.
What happens next?
In December 2025, the City, Spokane County, and SREC approved an agreement establishing a phased transition of services and funding, with the City’s primary 911 answering center planned for January 2028.
While SREC believes a regionalized approach provides the greatest financial and staffing efficiencies, we respect the City’s right to pursue the approach it believes best serves its residents.
Throughout this transition and beyond, our priority remains public safety. We will continue working with the City and regional partners to fulfill our mission: getting the right resources to the right location with an uncompromising focus on responder and citizen safety.
SREC was established in 2018 to bring emergency communications together under a shared regional system, improving coordination and reducing duplication. The City participated in planning but withdrew before SREC began operations in 2019. Other regional agencies moved forward.
Spokane Fire joined SREC in 2022 amid staffing shortages that prevented the City from maintaining its fire dispatch operations. Spokane Police maintained separate call-taking and dispatch operations. SREC has continued answering incoming 911 calls countywide, transferring City police calls to SPD dispatchers and providing Spokane Fire dispatch and Crime Check services.
For more than seven years, SREC worked with City leaders across multiple administrations to pursue full participation. Discussions addressed governance, funding, service levels, and the transition of Spokane Police dispatch.
In 2024, SREC asked the City to decide whether to join fully or establish its own system. A new regional dispatch platform and facility required decisions about staffing, technology, space, and funding. Either path required preparation, and continued uncertainty affected planning for the entire region.
Representation and governance
The City held two seats on SREC’s governing board and was offered a third for the Spokane Police Chief if SPD joined. Full participation would have given the City more direct board seats than any other participating agency.
The City also proposed a separate executive group that included elected officials and would control financial decisions, while SREC’s Board would oversee operations. SREC’s Board and Spokane County declined that approach.
SREC’s governance structure was designed around those closest to the work, including police and fire chiefs who understand emergency response and how financial decisions affect operations. The Board supported keeping those responsibilities connected and decisions grounded in public safety expertise and regional needs, rather than political priorities.
The decision to separate
While participation discussions continued, SREC discovered that the City had been working on HB 1258 to direct a portion of local 911 excise-tax funding to its separate emergency communications operations.
The SREC Board viewed this action as evidence that the City was preparing for an independent system rather than committing to regionalization. That discovery was the determining factor in the Board’s January 2025 vote to end participation discussions and move toward full separation .
Subsequent mediation did not resolve the differences, and SREC issued formal notice terminating its Spokane Fire service agreement in June 2025.
Funding services and planning ahead
SREC is funded through three primary sources: the 911 excise tax, the 1/10th of 1 percent emergency communications sales tax, and member-agency user fees.
The 911 tax on phone bills does not cover the full cost of emergency communications. Washington’s 2020 legislative cost study found that state and local 911 excise taxes covered approximately 30% of statewide operating costs during the period studied. User fees and other local funding help cover the remaining costs.
The City and SREC disagreed on how to budget for services and future needs. The City wanted to eliminate user fees and questioned the amount SREC held in reserves. SREC’s Board preferred saving for planned expenses, including a new facility, dispatch technology, and infrastructure improvements, to limit borrowing and help manage future costs for member agencies.
User fees are a common, established funding model for emergency communications centers across Washington and nationwide. SREC remains open to alternative approaches that sustainably fund services and fairly serve all participating agencies, and is currently conducting a study to evaluate its user fee and cost allocation model.
SREC continues to receive clean financial audits from the Washington State Auditor’s Office, with its fourth consecutive clean audit covering the 2024 reporting cycle.
Technology and separate investments
The City participated in planning for the regional computer-aided dispatch, or CAD, system before declining participation. It subsequently selected the same CAD platform but chose to purchase it separately.
From SREC’s perspective, separate purchasing and ongoing support duplicate investments that regional participation was intended to share. The Board continues to support shared technology investments to strengthen service and use taxpayer resources efficiently.
Emergency communications is more than answering calls
SREC operates and maintains the technology connecting callers, dispatchers, and first responders—including dispatch software, a regional radio system with 23 tower sites, and more than 5,000 radios used by participating agencies.
This infrastructure helps responders communicate with dispatch and one another across jurisdictional boundaries. During large-scale emergencies like the recent Spokane Complex Fires, those connections are critical to coordinating resources, sharing rapidly changing information, and protecting responders and the public. Keeping the system reliable requires ongoing maintenance, investment, and planning.
What happens next?
In December 2025, the City, Spokane County, and SREC approved an agreement establishing a phased transition of services and funding, with the City’s primary 911 answering center planned for January 2028.
While SREC believes a regionalized approach provides the greatest financial and staffing efficiencies, we respect the City’s right to pursue the approach it believes best serves its residents.
Throughout this transition and beyond, our priority remains public safety. We will continue working with the City and regional partners to fulfill our mission: getting the right resources to the right location with an uncompromising focus on responder and citizen safety.
