$83K worth of drugs taken off the streets in Rio Grande district

$83K worth of drugs taken off the streets in Rio Grande district

(KSL File)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Mayor Ralph Becker and Interim Police Chief Mike Brown met with residents and business owners in the Rio Grande District on Friday to discuss improving a campaign for public safety.

The officials outlined a coordinated focus on public safety in the area a month ago, and the Friday discussion reviewed the progress they've made and asked for community members' feedback on how they can continually improve their efforts, according to the Salt Lake Police Department.

"Our officers are taking ownership and responsibility for this area and the safety and security of all who work and live here," Brown said in a statement. "The issues we face are complex, but what is not complex is the expectation that everyone in this city deserves to feel safe."

Police said order-maintenance strategies have been focusing on drug dealing and related crime, increased area patrols and the addition of bike squads.

Police officers have raised the number of jail bookings for crimes committed in the area by 27 percent in the past 28 days. Officers have also issued 55 percent more misdemeanor citations and seized more than $83,000 of drugs off the streets, which has overall decreased drug dealing there.

Related:

In fact, overall crime has been reduced by 20 percent in the area of District 4, which houses this area.

More than 160 shopping carts were returned to their owners. The carts represented more than $56,000 in recovered stolen property.

The removal of the shopping carts is in conjunction with the city's temporary storage facility, "A Place for Your Stuff." The facility opened this summer and permits people to store their possessions there during the day while they look for a job or travel for services.

So far, more than 154 people have used the service and 11 have left the program after finding jobs or housing.

Police said more positive impacts can be expected after the hiring of eight social workers this month who are partnering with local service providers to pair individuals in crisis with help.

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahPolitics
Megan Marsden Christensen

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast