Bloglander

Spokane's Police Department will soon begin reassigning detectives to its disbanded property crimes division.

City budget director Tim Dunavint told a City Council briefing on Thursday that the city would reassign one detective to investigate property crimes by the end of January.

The department then plans to expand the number of detectives assigned to the division to four as 2012 progresses,  Dunavint says.

"They're not brand-new recruits" in the property crimes division, city spokeswoman Marlene Feist says, although the department is hiring new officers.

Feist says the department can reactivate the unit because some detectives are returning to work from medical leave. Spokane Police also hired some detectives from other towns, she says.

Property crimes was disbanded last June so the department could shift its limited funds to ensuring a speedy response to 911 calls from its patrol division.

Though the department says that property crimes are still being investigated, Mayor-Elect David Condon harnessed public outcry over the unit's disbandment in his successful bid to oust outgoing Mayor Mary Verner.