SALT LAKE CITY — Eight days.

That's how long it's taken about 150 Operation Rio Grande officers from multiple agencies to make 423 arrests in the latest effort to clean up Salt Lake City's most troubled neighborhood.

But when state, city and county leaders released that figure on Tuesday — up from 282 on Thursday — they emphasized that the focus of Operation Rio Grande is not just on arresting criminals and drug dealers, but also on treatment for the drug-addicted and mentally ill.

"We're not pushing our officers on the numbers. There's no requirement on how many arrests they make every day," Public Safety Commissioner Keith Squires said. "It's not about the number, but the quality of the law enforcement taking place and the opportunity to assist people."

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said while arrest numbers are "impressive" and integral to stopping the rampant drug dealing in the area, "there is great work being done on the compassionate side" to help connect people to services and ensure no one's civil rights are being violated.

Of the 423 arrests, 32 were for felony charges, 52 for felony charges with warrants, 72 were for misdemeanors, and 267 were for misdemeanors with warrants, according to Marissa Cote, spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Public Safety.

Also of that total, about 175 have been released either due to jail overcrowding, on bail or for court, according to Justin Hoyal, chief deputy of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. He said those who have been released due to jail space issues are prioritized as nonviolent offenders.

Hoyle also said about 250 of the 300 new jail beds funded through the state have become available, and he hopes the other 50 will come online at the end of the week or early next week.

"I'm very proud of the work that's been done," said House Speaker Greg Hughes. "But the work is not over. There is so much more to do."

That effort will be to open new detox, substance abuse and mental health treatment beds in the next two or three weeks so those wanting treatment can actually get it.

'Phase two'

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams rolled out the details of that plan, deemed "phase two" — a plan to use state dollars to open 256 new detox and treatment beds by the end of 2018.

McAdams said state leaders have committed to using a combination of Medicaid dollars and the state's general fund to pay the long-term cost of residential treatment care, agreeing to incur the expense of leasing and renovating additional spaces to expand treatment capacity.

That includes 15 new detox beds at Volunteers of America, 26 new treatment beds at the Odyssey House, 10 new treatment beds at the First Step house and one new treatment bed at the House of Hope by Sept. 7.

By Sept. 25, the Odyssey House is slated to have 24 new treatment beds with a new program. By Dec. 15, the Odyssey House is expected to receive 100 more beds and the First Step house is slated for 80.

But will it be enough?

Noella Sudbury, Criminal Justice Advisory Council coordinator, said county officials "hope so," though "time will tell."

"It's hard to know," Sudbury said, noting that demand far exceeds current capacity. "Over 200 beds is a huge increase from what we have now, so we're hopeful."

Hughes said Operation Rio Grande hinges on the success of phase two.

"If we don't get phase two right, you'll see a backfill of the drug lords and drug mules reuniting with their customer base," he said. "This has to be successful."

McAdams also announced the state's plans to fund "Specialty Court" — a new drug court structure equipped with legal defenders, social workers and treatment that county officials had originally hoped to fund with a state grant, but it was shelved when just under $2 million of the $3.6 million request was approved.

That new court will help streamline and consolidate efforts to help drug users embroiled in the court system to not only sober up, but also clean up their criminal records, Sudbury said.

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Paying for the operation

An unanswered question remained Tuesday: how much Operation Rio Grande was going to cost the state? Hughes said Monday that state leaders had a general idea of the cost — expected to be in the "tens of millions" — but a meeting was planned for Wednesday to flesh out the details.

State leaders are also expecting much of the price to be covered by Utah's request for Medicaid waivers, which would make $70 million in federal funding available to the state, matched with $30 million from Utah.

Hughes and McAdams said they're "confident" those waivers will be approved, but it's not clear if or when the federal administration will grant them.

'Treatment is absolutely necessary'

As state, county and city dignitaries took questions about Operation Rio Grande in a small room at the treatment center the Odyssey House, client Michael Mulkern, 35, wasn't thinking about politics — but rather how treatment saved his life as a father.

Mulkern, 35, said he spent a year homeless on the streets of Salt Lake City until he was arrested in January, in the throes of an addiction to methamphetamine and heroin. He said he lost custody of his three kids: two daughters ages 8 and 6, and a 4-year-old son.

"It takes your breath away," Mulkern said of when he lost his children, his eyes welling with tears and his lip trembling. He said at the time he was "depressed" and "hopeless."

But now, after receiving help from Odyssey House, Mulkern said he "couldn't be happier." The help he received allowed him to regain custody of his kids last month.

On Operation Rio Grande and the drive to open more treatment beds, Mulkern said, "there's no doubt in my mind it's the right thing to do."

"I don't feel like incarceration is the answer. I think it helps — it was my front door into (treatment), it got me to go through the initial heroin withdrawals but it's not the long-term answer," he said. "Treatment is absolutely necessary. I can say that because I've lived it, I've done it."

Mulkern urged those who are addicted to "take full advantage" of the state-funded treatment and "get help."

"You're only prolonging the inevitable" without treatment, he said. "(Addiction) takes your life. It takes your soul. It takes your family. It takes everything.

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