With vehicle thefts increasing, sheriff says law hindering police should be rescinded

Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part one, with part two set to appear in Sunday’s Tribune.

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COLFAX — A law limiting police chases to cases only involving a potential violent offender has led to an 88% increase in vehicle thefts.

With the number of vehicle thefts skyrocketing statewide, Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers is calling on lawmakers to rescind the law that only went into effect July 25 last year.

House Bill 1054 changed regulations on tactics and equipment used by police officers.

Under the law, officers can only engage in a pursuit with probable cause to arrest a person in the vehicle for committing a violent crime.

Myers wants law enforcement agencies to make the final call on pursuits.

“Get rid of the bad law and rely on the professionalism and performance of the department,” he said. “We need to rely on the experience of an officer.

Myers comments comes only a week after a high-speed pursuit led officers on a chase from Colfax to Washtucna.

“It’s not law abiders that are going to run from the police, it’s lawbreakers,” he said. “What we need to do is go back to allowing department by department to determine their own decisions.”

According to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, in the last two years, car thefts in Washington state have gone up nearly 150%.

The organization further reported that Whitman County saw a 400% increase in the span of one month this year.

The rise of car thefts is reported across all counties in Washington, the agency reported.

Neighboring Franklin County reports a 44% increase from 2020 to 2021.

In February, only one vehicle was reported stolen. In March, however, a reported five vehicles were stolen.

The Whitman County Sheriff’s Office reported it had been involved in two car chases in the span of only 24 hours this week.

A recent arrestee claimed she had been involved in six car chase pursuits prior to her capture, records show.

“The law basically emboldened the bad guys out there,” Myers said. “Essentially, the state and this law said ‘if you want to go steal cars, now is the time.’ ”

— Olivia Harnack, Whitman County Gazette, (Colfax), Thursday

St. Luke’s buys building to house temporary workers: 10 apartments will be used by short-term ‘travelers’

MCCALL — St. Luke’s McCall has purchased a building in McCall that will provide housing for the hospital’s temporary staffers.

The building at 212 N. Third St. has 10 one-room apartments that will primarily be used to house “travelers,” who are skilled workers hired for three to six months to unfilled positions or during busy times of the year, St. Luke’s McCall Chief Operating and Nursing Officer Amber Green said.

The apartments can also be used for permanent staff if a studio unit meets their needs, Green said.

Leases with the current apartment occupants will be honored, with the first lease expiring in August and the rest by August 2023, she said.

St. Luke’s McCall currently has contracts with 15 travelers who fill staffing gaps in surgical services, lab, medical imaging, nursing and clinic support positions.

That number has grown from the half-dozen travelers previously needed by the hospital in recent years, Green said.

“Having access to 10 new studio units will make a big difference in our ability to accommodate housing needs of travelers, which have become necessary for us to continue to provide services,” she said.

Over the past couple of years, candidates for full-time positions have turned down job offers because they have not been able to find housing in the area, she said.

The housing shortage has extended to travelers, with applicants turning down positions due to the lack of housing and its cost, Green said.

The value of travelers was illustrated by a position for an ultrasound technologist that has been open for more than a year, Green said.

A combination of travelers and a loan of technologist from a St. Luke’s clinic in Boise was able to keep the service available.

“If we had not been able to do this, we would have likely had to refer ultrasound exams to the Treasure Valley,” she said.

The cost of the building was not disclosed, but Green said the St. Luke’s McCall Foundation contributed to the deal.

— Tom Grote, The Star-News, (McCall), Thursday