Police department opens substation at North Bend Outlet Mall

“We aim to create a visible and accessible deterrent to criminal activity.”

By Mallory Kruml • June 25, 2024 9:23 am

Local elected officials, city staff, community members and the Snoqualmie Police Department celebrated the opening of a police substation June 24 at the North Bend Outlet Mall.

“By giving our officers a strategic location to work from, we aim to create a visible and accessible deterrent to criminal activity,” Police Chief Brian Lynch said at the event. “The decision to increase police presence at the mall is a deliberate and calculated effort to safeguard the stores and businesses that operate within these premises.”

Lynch highlighted a 17% increase in theft at the outlet mall during a Feb. 20 Snoqualmie Public Safety Committee meeting, when he mentioned the possibility of a substation.

The station, located at 661 South Fork Ave. SW, Suite 461 C, will be open when officers are available and on-site, but will not have specific, regular operating hours.

“Captain (Gary) Horejsi and myself plan on working out of the substation as much as possible to keep the doors open,” Lynch wrote. “I am hopeful that having us coming and going at all hours of the day and night will have a direct effect on criminals being so willing to do crime in and around the outlet mall.”

Several desks, a large conference table, a couch and a television fill out the space and will be utilized by officers who stop by the substation to perform administrative duties or to sit down and unwind after running calls.

“Having the substation will limit the need for those North Bend officers to have to come to the Douglas Street station during their shifts,” Lynch wrote. “They now have the ability to be 100% self-sufficient at this substation. In the past, the officers would have to go back to Snoqualmie just to print off a document. Now, they can do that from the substation.”

The city of North Bend will pay the substation’s $410 monthly rent bill, Lynch said.

“We recognize that a safe and secure shopping environment not only benefits the businesses and customers here, but it also contributes to an overall quality of life improvement in North Bend,” said Lynch, who went on to thank the mall owners, elected officials in North Bend and the police department for their collaborative efforts in making the substation a reality.

Residents are encouraged to stop by the substation to speak with an officer when one is present. If no officer is present, residents may call the non-emergency number at 425-888-3333. In emergencies, residents are encouraged to call 911.