The program this month featured the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland, Police Chiefs: Ken Hohenberg, Kennewick; Bob Metzger, Pasco; and Chris Skinner, Richland. Chief Metzger was not able to attend; in his place Captain Ken Roske presented.
While outlining some of the difficult areas of crime, they also shared our area is one of the least crime-ridden in the state, and even - the nation. Each mentioned how well the three agencies, along with the Benton and Franklin County Sheriffs, and the West Richland and Prosser agencies, work in close collaboration to keep our communities safe. All three maintain an informative web presence and interactive Facebook page.
Surprisingly, one of our highest crime activities is human trafficking. Chief Skinner, RPD, reported though as we travel about the tri-cities we see very little evidence of the underbelly of the 'seedy' side of crime; there is a robust degree of human-trafficking here. "There is an astonishing number of ongoing investigations....don't ever underestimate the amount of this that is going on."
Capt. Ken Roske, PPD, spoke primarily to the response by the department to the negativity unleashed recently in the community. The crime rate has significantly decreased in large part due to the many efforts to improve community outreach.
Chief Ken Hohenberg, KPD, reported the crime rate in the Tri-Cities is lower than both state and national averages. That being the case, he also shared that this area is a major drug distribution center on the road from production to delivery. "We are in the business of removing some very high-level dealers from the streets," he said, then added that ATF is involved in many of those cases.
Chief Hohenberg also reiterated the importance of education in any community. "Our challenges are similar," he said, quoting school safety, building safety, and the teaching of safety as the first order of priorities.
All would agree with Chief Hohenberg, in this day and age, "if you see something that doesn't look right," give 'em a call!
Thanks to V.P./Program Chair, Dottie Stevens for another great program.
