SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown discussed recent data and crime trends on Wednesday afternoon.
“This by no means, by no means represents an absence of crime in Salt Lake City,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “We want Salt Lake City residents and visitors and people who invest in this city to know that we are in this for the long haul and there really is no finish line around safety in Salt Lake City.”
Recent data compiled by Salt Lake City Police shows an 18% decreased in overall crime citywide over a span of the past 28 days. Violent crimes are up 8% while property crimes are down 21%. Overall, citywide crime is down roughly 2.2% year-to-date, which shows a decrease of 321 offenses compared to this time in 2020.
“When you look at that you’re really looking at fewer victims,” said Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown, who is still concerned with the amount of violent crime in the city. “It seems as if conflict resolution is being done with weapons, firearms and assaults.”
Here at @slcpd HQ this afternoon where @ChiefMikeBrown & @slcmayor will provide an update on Salt Lake City crime trends.
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Mendenhall says that violent crimes being up are consistent with similar crimes in other major cities nationwide. Out of Salt Lake City’s seven districts, district five and district three saw increases in violent crime above 40% over the last month.
“What we’ve been seeing lately is a lot of aggravated assaults on the streets and sadly there are aggravated family offenses that are occurring and driving some of these crime numbers or violent crime numbers up,” said Chief Brown.
Weapons offenses are up roughly 25% year-to-date compared to 2020. Chief Brown and Mayor Mendenhall credit strong work from various officers on bike and park patrol who have helped take firearms off the streets. Chief Brown says that his department has seized nearly 500 firearms in 2021.
While some crimes have increased in recent data, the overall crime numbers indicate that trends have improved in Utah’s capitol city.
“What we’re seeing right now is fewer crimes which means it’s a safer community for all,” said Brown.
