Salt Lake City plans to increase its police presence downtown and in other neighborhoods while trying to quickly build up its emergency shelter capacity, according to new plans released by city officials.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced Thursday the city will enact new plans to step up its public safety efforts. The changes are in response to a December letter from state officials, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, calling for major changes to the way the city handles public safety and homelessness.
The city’s plan tries to strike a delicate balance: provide additional care and more shelter space to house those in need, while also prosecuting people openly using drugs, camping illegally or committing other unspecified crimes.
City officials’ statement outlines how a lack of supportive housing leaves many people on the streets, and ineffective support services continue to allow people to fall through the cracks without safeguards.
In a letter to Cox, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams and Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, Mendenhall writes the city, “will bring significant public safety action to ensure the high-need areas around the Jordan River Trail, the Ballpark neighborhood, and our downtown are safe, clean, and welcoming for all.”
Specifically, Mendenhall writes that Salt Lake City police will “implement consistent foot patrols, increased bike patrols, and special operations.” She later writes one potential step is to create more space in the Salt Lake County Jail using city and state funds. Salt Lake County residents voted down a $507 million bond in November, which would’ve increased the county’s number of jail beds, while funding mental health care, substance use treatment and other services.
In addition to more police patrols, the plan also states that members of the Salt Lake City Council will be presented with a new ordinance aimed at stemming illegal camping.
“These updates will enable the City to focus enforcement efforts and prioritize the timely removal of encampments near sensitive areas like (homeless resource centers), daycares and schools, businesses and homes, and the Jordan River,” the plan says.
However, instead of calling to prosecute its way out of homelessness, the city also stressed the need to create more supportive housing and shelter space.
“Salt Lake City is dedicated to creating supportive shelter options as quickly as possible,” Mendenhall writes.
In the plan, city officials acknowledge there’s a shortage of between 1,000 and 1,600 emergency shelter beds. The city’s proposed solution is to expedite the creation of a temporary emergency shelter on a city-owned property until the state can construct a permanent, low-barrier shelter.
Salt Lake City’s plan also targets so-called “High Utilizers” — people who are “living with mental health needs, substance use disorders, general trauma, those who may be both victims and perpetrators of crime, and a combination of these factors,” according to the city’s plans. This population is frequently in and out of the justice system for lower-level crimes such as drug possession, illegal camping and other misdemeanor charges.
The plan also calls for increased consequences for people routinely arrested for these types of crimes, only to find themselves quickly released back on the streets with little judicial oversight or support services to address the root causes of their issues.
“The fentanyl crisis is tragically real, with drugs increasingly flowing into our state and distributors sent by members of international drug cartels often targeting vulnerable communities,” Mendenhall wrote in her letter. “Jail bookings from the SLCPD account for 28% of all bookings in Salt Lake County — more than double the next highest contributor. At the same time, nearly half of those bookings — 47% — involve individuals who self-reported as experiencing homelessness.”
In her letter, Mendenhall describes Salt Lake City as a “faith-based community,” and says that homeless people must be treated with dignity and respect.
“We believe that each individual has inherent value and deserves dignity,” she writes. “To accept our system as it is denies the dignity of these human beings … This (plan) must include an increased public safety focus that connects directly to an improved system of accountability and supportive services to help as many people as possible recover and stabilize in permanent housing instead of ending up back on the street.”
Mendenhall’s letter concludes by stressing the need for coordination between the city, county and state, while acknowledging the city’s shortcomings.
“I believe we must start with ourselves if we are to create real change,” Mendenhall writes. “Salt Lake City is at the forefront of public safety and homelessness, but we cannot act alone if we expect lasting impacts … The time for collaboration and cooperation is now. We all want to see Salt Lake City thrive for generations to come.”
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