1 week Ago
Two major thrusts in Salt Lake City’s stepped-up enforcement of public safety have recently picked up momentum. With rates of homelessness still running high and the city pressing on multiple fronts to alleviate the effects, Utah’s capital has extended the potential use of more than 120 emergency winter shelter beds well into the summer. At the same time, police, park rangers and city-hired private contractors are continuing a targeted campaign against crime, cleaning up illegal encampments and restoring a sense of security for trail users along the Jordan River.
Now entering its fourth week, that effort along the river has yielded more than 80 arrests, according to the city’s latest update. It has also reduced the amount of drug paraphernalia and garbage strewn on some trail segments and appears to be luring some visitors back to park spaces along the river. Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd , who replaced former Chief Mike Brown in February, said in a statement that early results were promising.
“We are committed to restoring the Jordan River Trail as a safe and welcoming public space,” Redd said. “Through our strategic enforcement and close collaboration with city partners and mental health professionals, we are disrupting crime and addressing safety and livability concerns. “The positive feedback from trail users,” he added, “confirms we’re making an impact.
” (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) People line up outside the St. Vincent de Paul Center in Salt Lake City during mealtime in 2020. At the behest of Mayor Erin Mendenhall, temporary zoning also has gone into place to keep overnight bed capacity elevated at three city homeless resource centers as well as downtown’s St.
Vincent de Paul Center, which has been authorized to lift its bed count for emergency overnight sleeping accommodations as of April 16. Up to 50 overflow beds each at the Geraldine E. King Resource Center, 131 E.
700 South, and at the Gail Miller Resource Center, 242 W. Paramount Avenue, are now authorized to come on line as of May 1. The city’s Youth Homeless Resource Center, 888 S.
400 West, will be allowed to extend its capacity by up to 20 beds as of June 4. The temporary zoning approval at those locations will remain in effect for 180 days — essentially leaving those extra beds available through the warmer months, according to Andrew Johnston, the city’s director of homeless policy and outreach . “That gets us from the spring until the fall and the next winter cycle,” Johnston recently told the City Council, which approved the changes.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Geraldine E. King Women's Resource Center in Salt Lake City. The boost in beds through the spring and summer months is an important piece in the mayor’s overall public safety plan, released in mid-January , according to the city’s ordinance on the temporary zoning.
Temporarily increasing overnight capacity at existing shelters — as opposed to creating a new shelter — “imposes a lesser impact on the community as a whole,” the ordinance says. State authorities, meanwhile, are in the midst of finding a location for a large and permanent homeless resource campus , but that process, according to the city’s temporary ordinance, will need additional time. (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Gail Miller Resource Center in 2023.
While that unfolds, the ordinance reads, “it is in the best interests of the city to allow additional capacity at existing homeless resource centers.” In approving the move, the council also explicitly encouraged other Utah cities to permit new shelters and expand capacity at existing shelter locations in their communities. The city’s latest deployment along the Jordan River Trail followed a temporary closure of the segment between 700 North and Cottonwood Park in response to complaints over deteriorating conditions from trail users and neighbors.
The indefinite shutdown, according to city officials, is allowing heightened law enforcement patrols and a long-planned environmental cleanup of the river corridor. (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Workers with Advantage Services clean up trash during a homeless encampment cleanup along the Jordan River in March 2025. The Police Department’s community impact division has led efforts to increase bike and foot patrols along the river, in conjunction with park rangers employed by the city’s Public Lands Department.
Rangers are giving “extra attention” to the river stretches, according to the city, “and will continue to do so throughout the closure.” “As we restore these areas,” Redd said, ”we will look to the city and our neighbors to help activate these public spaces. These improvements will take time, but with a steady focus and strong collaboration we will get there.
“This is not a one-time fix or a police-only solution,” the chief said. “It will take our entire city and community working together.” The mayor’s office recently submitted a budget amendment to the council for an additional $1 million in police overtime and another $320,000 on top of $1.
4 million already set aside for cleanups of illegal camps, conducted by private contractor Advantage Services. While the public safety efforts have three main focus areas — downtown, the Ballpark neighborhood and the Jordan River — the city’s latest tallies show the river trail and areas around its intersection with North Temple are currently seeing an outsized share of calls for police service, arrests and jail bookings. Police have reported several large drug busts as part of their campaign, including an individual confronted on a sidewalk at North Temple and 800 West allegedly carrying cash and 200 pills suspected to be the powerful narcotic fentanyl.
The Police Department said it will expand its beefed-up public safety patrols to Liberty Park starting this week, while also maintaining its more intense emphasis along the Jordan..
