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SALT LAKE CITY — After a pair of shootings, one leaving a man dead, another leading to reports of dozens of fired shots near homes, and a reported attempted kidnapping all in the same area of Utah's capital city during the span of the July 4 weekend, Amy Hawkins decided enough was enough.
The chairwoman of the Ballpark Community Council called up Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown on Sunday and asked him to come to a joint community council meeting with the Central Ninth neighborhood planned for Thursday evening. And as the meeting wrapped up, Hawkins wanted to make it abundantly clear that the past weekend doesn't reflect the neighborhood she lives in and represents.
"This is not normal," she said. "This is not OK. ... We will do everything that we can as a community to support each other, to make this not normal. We want a safe community for everybody who lives here, travels through it and visits here. I cannot emphasize that enough."
Mounting frustrations with crime
Hawkins called the online meeting to order following three major incidents in and around the two neighborhoods over the holiday weekend.
- One person was killed and another was seriously injured in a shooting at the 900 South TRAX platform on Saturday night. Utah Transit Authority Capt. Jason Peterson, who attended the meeting, said UTA police are almost done with their investigation, but noted it does appear that the shooter was acting in self-defense.
- A man was severely injured in a shooting at 1485 S. Major Street early Sunday. Some reported hearing dozens of shots fired; Brown confirmed that there were "several shots" fired throughout three crime scenes in the area. Two men, who were reportedly bouncers for a nearby venue, were arrested on Monday. Brown said the man who was injured left a hospital voluntarily despite the recommendations of doctors.
- Police also received a report of a woman who was assaulted with the handle of gun by an unknown person who tried to drag her into their car at 800 S. Main early Monday. A police spokesman said the case remains under investigation.
But Thursday evening's meeting ultimately lasted over an hour and a half, as residents vented frustrations with other crimes in the area, such as what some described as blatant drug dealing; one person referred to Major Street as a "drug dealing district."
Dan Thomas, a Ballpark resident for almost a decade, said he feels like people from outside of the neighborhood come to it because they believe they won't be caught there. When police do arrive, he says drug users often just move to another area a block or two away and says it's "cultivated a culture of drugs."
Others voiced issues with unanswered phone calls and even the lack of information after certain cases. Wendy Wade, a resident and landlord, said she's basically spent her whole life in the neighborhood and can't remember a time when the crime was as bad as it is now.
But her biggest frustration is the feeling that the city isn't doing anything about it.
"I actually care, but I feel like the city doesn't care about me," she said, during the meeting. "That's how I really feel. I support 12 small businesses ... and I just don't feel like the city cares about me."
Efforts to combat Ballpark crime
Crime issues have plagued the area in the past, and Brown said that the neighborhood has been one that police have focused on in recent weeks. There have been seven homicides through the first half of the year in Salt Lake City, down from 10 at the same point last year, according to Salt Lake police crime statistics. Three of the cases are in District 5, which includes the Ballpark and Central Ninth neighborhoods.
Those numbers are based on cases handled by Salt Lake police, so they don't include the homicide at the 900 South TRAX station. Utah Transit Authority police are handling that case.
Total violent crimes in the district are up 16% from last year and nearly 43% above the five-year average, despite all citywide violent crime only being at 2% above last year and 14% above the five-year average. That said, overall crime, which includes nonviolent offenses, is down about 9% from 2021 in District 5 and almost 2% from the five-year average; overall crime in the city is down 10% from this time last year and 1.9% from the five-year average, according to the data.
What's interesting is that about one-third of crimes over the past year and a half have been committed by people who don't live in the city, according to Salt Lake City Deputy Chief Scott Mourtgos. It's unclear how many people are from the neighborhood itself among the remaining two-thirds.
Prior to the meeting, Brown told KSL-TV that he was "more than happy" to speak with the community council when Hawkins called because he said it's important to listen to "fears and concerns" residents have about safety in the area of the city and talk to them about the ways the department is trying to combat those issues.
Salt Lake police started trying a tactic Brown calls "hot block policing" in the area about six weeks ago, which is simply assigning officers closer to where crime is happening. Since then, he said they've placed squad cars and a "contingency" of undercover narcotics, vice, different gang units, and the Liberty Bike Patrol in some of the tougher areas, including 1400 South at Jefferson Street and The Gail Miller Resource Center in the Ballpark neighborhood.
We are putting our officers in those areas to hopefully prevent, to arrest and to deter criminal activity.
–Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown
The police department is also partnering with the University of Texas at San Antonio for a one-year program to analyze the police department's data and offer new insights that the department may have missed, including precise moments when police should patrol certain areas of the city. The city is also slowly chipping away at its officer employment shortage.
"We are putting our officers in those areas to hopefully prevent, to arrest and to deter criminal activity," he said. "We, as a police department, hear their concerns, and it breaks my heart that a community feels (concerned about safety). Can you imagine, if you are a parent, having to explain the sound of gunfire to your young child? That really does pull at my heartstring."
Mourtgos added that there are also some limitations to what police can do. He points out that police aren't responsible for jails, decisions by county prosecutors or sentences handed out in courts, as he responded to questions about repeat offenders.
Hoping to avoid a repeat meeting
What's unclear now is if these tactics will work, and the uncertainty loomed as the long meeting came to a close. Hawkins said she's concerned that "we're going to be here in another three or six months, having these same conversations."
Brown pledged to come to another meeting either next month or another time later in the year to review data to see if these tactics are working.
Salt Lake City Councilman Darin Mano, who represents the district, said city leaders are also open to suggestions to improve the area on a planning level. The city is currently going through a process to approve a new Ballpark Station Area Plan that aims to revitalize parts of the neighborhood.
Salt Lake police contend it's an all-hands-on-deck situation to reduce crime in the neighborhood.
"I feel for the people who live down there. I have friends and acquaintances — I know some of the business owners," Brown said. "They deserve to feel safe if they go for a walk. They deserve to operate a business without fear. And that's what we want to give back to this community."
Contributing: Jay Hancock
