TOOELE, Utah — Gabrielle Gould and her family have lived in Tooele County for two decades.
“It’s grown a lot, a lot," said Gould, "but also it still has that small town feel.”
She has a passion for her home and its history, and in keeping up with where it's headed.
“[Her children] can’t play out in the front anymore because there are reckless drivers, also you don’t know people’s intentions, it’s not as trustworthy as much as it used to be,” she added.
According to the city, Tooele has averaged between 3 and 4 percent annual growth over the past five years. As the city gets bigger, Tooele Police say there's a darker kind of growth.
“With more people, statistics will grow, and it’s a numbers game as more people are here, more things will happen,” shared Lt. Shawn Sagers.
Aggravated assaults have risen from 84 in 2022 to 90 last year, with rapes nearly doubling between 2022 and 2025. In 2022, there were just three reports of arson, but they skyrocketed to 11 last year.
“I think that there was already a problem with not having enough resources available for the people that live here,” said Gould.
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But Tooele Police will now have new resources to help out as the department qualified for the Justice Assistance Program. Part of the nearly $23,000 federal grant will go toward a drone program to help find missing people and fleeing suspects.
“Based off of crime statistics, the money goes to help try and mitigate some of the trends,” explained Lt. Sagers.
Gould hopes communities will be better about sticking together.
"The more we can all be in the same page and be open to helping each other, I think the less opportunity there is for more crime,” she said.
