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SALT LAKE CITY — People in the area near Pioneer Park, the Road Home homeless shelter and the Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City say the area is once again being taken over by illegal activity.
Business owners in the area said the problems are getting worse — and Salt Lake City police officers said they feel it's close to out of control.
Even at 1 p.m., residents said the atmosphere there is 'anything goes' when it comes to drug dealing and drug using, with people smoking spice or crack underneath shirts or even out in the open.
The large windows at Spy Hop Productions, a school for young people in the digital arts, offer a clear view of the activity.
"We have a lot of people who will just go and smoke crack or shoot up heroin or smoke marijuana or go to the bathroom right in front of us and that's really hard," said Spy Hop director Kassandra Verbrugghen.
Officers say sometimes the criminal activity is a "drive by" scenario, with a dealer hopping into a buyer's car or someone parking and taking a short walk to buy. The transaction is over in a matter of seconds.
The area has had a history of drug problems and prostitution, but people said recently they are noticing it happening more frequently. Fights over money and drugs happen often.
Bike patrol officers said their office is taking the brunt of the complaints.
I characterize it as being on an elastic band. I can't leave the shelter for more than two blocks when I have to come right back.
–Sgt. Gill Arenaz of the Salt Lake Police bike patrol
"I characterize it as being on an elastic band. I can't leave the shelter for more than two blocks when I have to come right back," said Sgt. Gill Arenaz of the Salt Lake police bike patrol. "I respond to an incident on one side of the street when another incident will flare up on the other side of the street — even with us in plain view of all the participants."
Business owners near the Road Home homeless shelter and people near Pioneer Park said the situation is overwhelming.
"It is a living nightmare down here," said Pete Henderson of the Rio Grande café. "I have been to meeting after meeting and there has been a tremendous amount of lip service. And until recently, I have seen no change, in fact a constant worsening of the problems."
Restaurant owners and residents say that prostitution is becoming a big problem as well, with prostitutes regularly taking customers, sometimes several at a time, to the park bathrooms.
At Tony Caputo's deli, customers are starting to notice the scene as well.
"I'd like to see it where it was a year ago, for crying out loud. The city was making great inroads," Tony Caputo said.
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Significant resources from state, county and city have been devoted to dealing with the drug problem. Crackdowns occur on a regular basis: arrests for trespassing, public intoxication, urinating in public are frequent.
However, even with services being brought to the park, problems of mental illness, unemployment and poverty can be tough problems to solve.
"They need housing, they need jobs," said Michelle Ross of the Salt Lake City Police Department. "I mean that's the biggest we're hearing right now is housing and jobs — and there's not enough of the low income and no income type housing."
In the park, there is a fight against homelessness. And on the fringes, it's a war against those who prey on the homeless, against mental illness, drug addiction and lawlessness.
"We can't arrest our way out of this problem," Arenaz said.
