SPOKANE, Wash. – The Spokane Police Department brought back its Neighborhood Resources Officer in March 2025, after they’d been cut due to a lack of funding. There are currently four NROs working the streets.
Officer Scott Hice, a 12-year veteran of SPD, is in his second stint as an NRO.
“I’m the NRO, Neighborhood Resource Officer, for the Northwest, which is everything north of the river and west of Division (Street),” said Hice.
That’s about a 20 square mile territory for just one officer. The other three current NROs cover the Northeast, South, and downtown sections of the city.
Hice spends his days looking into things like traffic complaints, nuisance issues, squatters, and drug houses – the types of issues patrol officer can’t fix right away.
“I’m more the long-term guy. It’s like, “Hey, this is something that we’re going to have to put more time into. We’ve going to have to invest more time in this problem,'” explained Hice.
When Hice is able to solve a problem, he says neighbors celebrate with him.
“When you get a victory, it’s awesome. The whole neighborhood comes out. They cheer. ‘Yay! Finally!’ You’re like, ‘I know. I know. We’re working on it.'”
But he admit it’s also a job that can be tough to turn off at the end of the day.
“I love the job. But again, it’s like putting those bricks in your backpack. And after a while, it starts to weigh on you. Again, because you can’t solve everyone’s problems. You want to, but there’s so many.”
SPD hopes to add several more Neighborhood Resource Officers in the near future to take some of the load off of officers like Hice.
“And I think it’ll happen. It’s just going to take time. It’s like anything else. So for now, I’m kind of the Long Ranger out there in the Northwest.”
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