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Tonya Papanikolas reportingNew homes are constantly popping up all over Draper. In the last 3 years, the population has grown almost 30 percent. But with that growth, often a higher crime rate will follow. That's what's happening in Draper.
Draper got its own police department three years ago, and they've been busy ever since. They say every year, they get about 3,000 more police dispatch calls than the year before. They're working hard to keep up.
Sgt. Jerald Allred, Draper City Police: "This is a higher economic area out here, and I think the thinking in the criminal community is they're gonna be able to get more stuff out here."
Draper Police say they've seen more property crimes in the last few months.
Sgt. Jerald Allred: "We saw a significant increase in car prowls especially, and garage burglaries."
Corporal Brian Markland: "There's a garage door open right there on the left."
As we rode with police, we saw numerous homes with open garages filled with expensive bikes, cars and equipment.
Corporal Brian Markland: "And they don't care if you're in your house or in your backyard, they'll walk right into your garage and take stuff."
Retail growth has brought its own potential for crime. In addition to thefts and fraud inside stores, police see a lot of smash and grab burglaries in the parking lots. With so many cars parked in large retail areas, burglars have a choice. Officers say they tend to hit cars where they can see valuables just sitting out on the seats.
Construction sites are also a target. Police say they patrol them heavily at night when thieves appear.
Corporal Brian Markland, Draper City Police Department: "They steal lumber, they steal power tools, hand tools, trailers."
Draper police currently have 30 officers working hard to fight all this crime. But they say they really need more.
Sgt. Jerald Allred: "We've stayed at about the same staffing to try to stay up with the population growth, so we're kind of losing a little bit of ground that way."
Cost Of Fighting Crime
- $80,000 Officer Salary
- $20,000 Patrol Car
- $2,000 Equipment
Getting new police officers is hard; the city council and mayor have to approve new positions. It takes more than $100,000 for one officer's salary, car and equipment.
But Draper says they're hopeful they will get new officers in the future.
