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(KSL News) The violent crime rate in Salt Lake City reached a seven-year high in 2006.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, violent crime in Salt Lake rose nearly 15 percent from 2005 to 2006. The number of rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went up. Salt Lake Police say drug use drives a lot of crime.
Sgt. Jeff Bedard of the Salt Lake City Police Department said, "We can't change the fact that there may be a rise in crime, but what we can do is try to react to that and reallocate our resources."
This year, the department started a new program that puts more officers in the community to help neighborhood and business watch groups.
Police also credit new initiatives in driving property crime down.
