Chief Brown addresses crime concerns in Salt Lake City's Ballpark neighborhood
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KUTV) — It’s something Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown hears all the time – neighbors who are worried about persistent crime issues in the Ballpark neighborhood.
“As a chief, I am concerned about comments like that. It makes me want to commit more and do more to make that community safer, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Brown told 2News.
Chief Brown sat down exclusively with KUTV after a weekend stabbing killed a man on State Street.
“The goal is always to prevent that type of crime, but if we can’t the goal is always to hold those who commit it accountable,” Brown said.
According to Salt Lake City Police, officers were on scene of the stabbing within three minutes. Through investigation and leads from witnesses, detectives arrested a suspect within hours.
“That is great police work. That is a community coming together to solve that type of crime. Those businesses stepped up to help us and those witnesses, at the end of the day we arrested the perpetrator,” Brown said.
But even with a suspect in custody for the stabbing, residents in the area are still unsettled.
“My concern is this is going to turn into the wild west like it does every single summer,” said Robert Danielson, a business owner in the Ballpark neighborhood.
Danielson says he sees persistent drug, prostitution, and street crime that always gets worse in the summer.
“We need to talk about this so we can address this,” he said.
Danielson added that he feels Salt Lake City Police are responsive when he calls them. But he believes the solution to the persistent issues in neighborhood need to come from collaboration between residents, community leaders, government, and law enforcement.
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“The reality is we are throwing hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars at this problem and it’s not getting better, it’s getting worse,” he said.
Chief Brown said the department is working on a strategic plan to ensure public safety in the Ballpark neighborhood, including focused patrols by the neighborhood bike unit.
Brown also pointed to the success of a department program to have minor crimes handled by officers over the phone. Since the program started in October, Salt Lake City Police have fielded 11,000 calls for service over the phone, which Brown says keeps patrol resources available for more urgent issues.
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“If we can take those lower level crimes and deal with them telephonically that frees up our officers to help prevent crime,” Brown said.
Brown added that the department continues its efforts to recruit officers to add to the department’s response and investigative abilities.
“I want you to know we are listening, we are working hard and we will always be there for you,” Brown said.