Salt Lake City Police Department

Salt Lake City Police Department
Common name	Salt Lake City Police
Abbreviation	SLCPD, SLPD
Motto	Serving with Integrity
Agency overview
Formed	1851
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Map of Salt Lake City Police Department's jurisdiction.
Size	110.4 square miles (286 km2)
Population	180,651
Legal jurisdiction	Salt Lake City, Utah
General nature	• Local civilian agency
Headquarters	475 South 300 East, Salt Lake City, Utah
Agency executives	Mike Brown, Chief of Police Tim Doubt, Assistant Chief - Chief of Staff Josh Scharman, Deputy Chief - Operations Bureau Dave Askerlund, Deputy Chief - Administrative Bureau
Parent agency	Salt Lake City
Website
SLCPD site

The Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) is headquartered in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, United States at 475 South and 300 East, one block east of the Salt Lake City Public Library. This headquarters is called the Salt Lake City Public Safety Building and is shared with the Salt Lake City Fire Department.^[1] The department was founded in 1851, under the newly created City Charter, when the Mayor authorized a police department to be created and forty men were appointed, earning 25 cents-an-hour.^[2] The SLCPD is a member city of the Major Cities Chiefs Association in its Western Region.^[3]

Command staff

Chief Mike Brown

Chief of Police Mike Brown was appointed by Mayor Jackie Biskupski on May 3, 2016.^[4] Brown at that time had served for 25 years in the Salt Lake City Police Department and had held a number of positions, including commander of the Special Operations Bureau. In that role, he oversaw SWAT, the Safe Streets Gang Task Force, the metro narcotics task force, the organized-crime unit, the motorcycle squad and other areas.^[5]

Assistant Chief Tim Doubt has been with the Salt Lake City Police Department since 1989. Promoted to Assistant Chief in 2016, he serves as Chief of Staff of the Police Department.^[6]

Deputy Chief Dave Askerlund has been with the Salt Lake City Police Department since 1985. Askerlund has worked, supervised, or commanded many units within the Department including the Motor Squad, SWAT, Metro Gangs, Accident investigations, Vice, City Narcotics, Metro Narcotic Task Force, Internal Affairs, Training Unit, and the Police Academy.

Deputy Chief Josh Scharman has been with the Salt Lake City Police Department since 1996. Scharman has worked, supervised, or commanded many units within the Department including SWAT, Gangs, Safe Street Task Force, Narcotics, and Internal Affairs.

Department Structure

The Salt Lake City Police Department is divided into two bureaus, which are directed from the Office of the Chief. They are the Administrative Bureau and the Operations Bureau and each is commanded by a Deputy Chief of Police. The bureaus, in turn, are divided into six different divisions. Two of those are geographical, where the city is split into Pioneer Patrol (west) and Liberty Patrol (east). Additionally, staff are also allocated to the Special Operations, Investigations, Support and Professional Standards bureaus. Each division is commanded by a sworn officer with the rank of captain. Every member of the department, sworn and civilian, is assigned to one of these bureaus, divisions or the Office of the Chief.^[7]

Ranks and Insignia

Title	Insignia
Chief of Police
Assistant Chief
Deputy Chief
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Detective	None
Police Officer	None

Community Oriented Policing

Community-Supported Policing

The Salt Lake City Police Department uses a number of policing management models and practices to be effective. It is a major proponent of Community-Supported Policing, which is specifically engineered for Salt Lake City. Crime and public safety are community issues, therefore, the community and the police work together with solidarity of purpose to solve them by taking responsibility and participation. Each member of the Salt Lake City Police Department, sworn or civilian, is responsible for achieving the stated mission, owning the outcome and providing consideration for unique circumstances. Likewise, the community, in solidarity and shared vision, has a stake in the outcome, provides bottom-up contributions, and shares responsibility for making Salt Lake City both safer and more enjoyable.^[8]

Community Intelligence Unit

The Salt Lake City Police Department is divided geographically into two divisions; Liberty (east) and Pioneer (west) and also into the seven city council districts. Each city council district has a detective assigned to it who is devoted to grassroots problem-solving within the community. Led by an experienced sergeant, the Community Intelligence Unit (CIU) officers attend monthly community council meetings within their assigned district to share and receive important community information at these meetings. They also interact daily with residents and business owners to foster the trust necessary to tackle public safety issues together.^[9]

Volunteer Corps

Community-Supported Policing efforts are sustained by the Volunteer Corps which is an all-volunteer, independent non-profit with 501(c)(3) status. Oversight and administration are provided by the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Public Relations Unit. During the 2015-16 fiscal year, Volunteer Corp members donated more than 2,300 volunteer hours . More than 1,300 people have been trained and involved since the program’s creation in July 1993. There are currently three divisions and approximately twenty active members. The ongoing mission is to recruit new members and grow the program, which is designed to promote an equal partnership between the department and the residents it serves. The Volunteer Corps is a community-based approach to combating crime.^[10]

Crime Prevention and Reduction^[11]

Intelligence-led policing

The Salt Lake City Police Department also embraces Intelligence-led policing (ILP). Intelligence-led Policing is a business model and managerial philosophy where data analysis and crime intelligence are critical to objective, decision‐making that assists crime reduction and problem solving, disruption and prevention, through both strategic management and effective enforcement strategies that target serious offenders and criminals who repeatedly re-offend.^[12]

CompStat

CompStat, (short for computerized statistics),^[13] is used along with ILP in Salt Lake City as a performance management system used to reduce crime and achieve other police department goals. CompStat meetings are held every second Wednesday at 10 a.m. with each meeting addressing a different geographical area or bureau and currently identified trends or problems.^[14] CompStat emphasizes information-sharing, responsibility and accountability, and improving effectiveness.^[15] It includes four generally recognized core components:

1. Timely and accurate information or intelligence
2. Rapid deployment of resources
3. Effective tactics
4. Relentless follow-up^[16]

Neighborhood Watch

Neighborhood Watch is one of the most effective and least expensive ways to prevent crime and reduce fear of crime. Neighborhood Watch fights the isolation that crime both creates and feeds upon. It also forges bonds among area residents; helps reduce burglaries, robberies and car prowls; and improves relations between law enforcement and the community. In Salt Lake City, Neighborhood Watch is both a crime reduction tool and part of Community-Supported Policing efforts.^[17]

Police Explorers Program

Salt Lake City Police Department Explorers

The intent of the Explorers Program in law enforcement is to educate and involve youth in police operations, to interest them in possible law enforcement careers, and to build mutual understanding. The education aspect provides knowledge of the law enforcement function whether the participant enters policing or not. Through involvement, the Law Enforcement Explorer Program establishes an awareness of the complexities of police service.

Although it is not a prerequisite for acceptance into the program, the Post is designed as a vocational interest for young adults, ages 14 to 20, who are interested in a future career in Law Enforcement.

Salt Lake City Police Department Explorers are involved in several department and community service programs. Post members are required to participate in Post activities on a monthly basis to remain active. In addition, there are classes provided to enhance knowledge in the Law Enforcement Field. Members of the Explorer Program are non-paid volunteers.^[18]

Employee Representation

The Salt Lake Police Association is the primary labor organization within the department and represents over 350 rank and file officers. The association began life as The Salt Lake City Police Mutual Aid Association, established in 1911, which was a social organization formed to provide an outside support group for officers and their families. After a few iterations, in 1984, the Salt Lake Police Association was formed as an independent union, and won recognition by the City as the exclusive bargaining agent for the officers.

Since 2014, the Association stands with the Utah State AFL-CIO in legislative issues to preserve retirement, collective bargaining and other labor issues although presently not an affiliate.^[19] The current President is Detective Steve Hartney, who began his term on January 1, 2017.

The Salt Lake City Police Sergeant's Association is a support organization for the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant and captain. The president of the sergeant's association is Detective Sergeant Todd Mitchell. The Salt Lake City Lodge #29 of the Fraternal Order of Police also represents many officers within the department.

High Profile Cases

The SLCPD has handled several cases in recent years, most notably the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping in 2002, the murder of Lori Hacking in 2004, the kidnapping and murder of Destiny Norton in 2006, and the shooting spree at Trolley Square in 2007 that resulted in 5 deaths and 4 serious woundings. The department also took part in the Salt Lake City Public Library hostage incident in 1994.

Footage released on August 31, 2017 show an incident between the police detective Jeff Payne and the nurse Alex Wubbels at the University of Utah Hospital. Payne asked Wubbels to provide a blood sample from an unconscious patient, and she was arrested when she refused.^[20] Wubbels was later released and no charges were brought against her.^[21] In September 2017, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office and Unified Police launched an independent criminal investigation into the arrest.^[22]

Fallen Officers

Since the establishment of the Salt Lake City Police Department, 22 officers have died in the line of duty.^[23]

See also

• Law Enforcement in the United States
• List of law enforcement agencies in Utah
• Salt Lake City Fire Department
• Salt Lake City website
• Salt Lake City Police Association
• Utah Chiefs of Police Association
• Major Cities Chiefs Association

References

Further reading

• The Salt Lake City History Project. The History of the Salt Lake City Police Department. (Salt Lake City: The Salt Lake City History Project, 2013)

External links

• Official Website