This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Most Utahns say they would embrace the naming of a "homeless czar" to clean up Salt Lake City's Rio Grande area, known for homelessness, drug trafficking and violence.
Of 614 registered voters questioned for a Salt Lake Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll, 68 percent said they were "definitely" or "probably" in favor of creating an independently appointed official to coordinate efforts to mitigate the stress and chaos around The Road Home.
Respondents, however, were not so keen on having the governor call in the National Guard to police the neighborhood. Nearly 6 in 10 (57 percent) would oppose such a move, while 36 percent either would "strongly support" or "somewhat support" it. Republicans were more open to the idea than Democrats and unaffiliated voters.
Both options were brought up recently by Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper. He made headlines earlier this month by venting his frustrations publicly after two violent incidents over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
In one case, a visiting professional baseball pitcher was assaulted by a homeless man in an attempted robbery. In the other, a car plowed into a group of homeless people on the sidewalk near the shelter, killing one.
"The violence and what is going on there is escalating," Hughes said. "It's just a disgrace."
Hughes believes anonymity breeds lawlessness, and he has devised a possible solution that he hopes to pitch Wednesday at a meeting called by Gov. Gary Herbert.
The plan would be modeled after Operation Diversion in which Salt Lake City and County teamed up to corral area offenders and offer them a choice between treatment or jail.
Hughes' proposal calls for daily sweeps over an indefinite period. The key, he said, is that individuals snared in the action would become known to the system.
The Tribune-Hinckley poll, conducted by Dan Jones & Associates, used a blend of landlines, cellphones and onlines respondents. The overall margin of error is plus or minus 3.95 percentage points.
On the question of whether to appoint a homeless czar, 77 percent of Democrats answered "definitely" or "probably." Republicans were supportive as well, with 65 percent backing the idea. More than three-quarters (76 percent) of unaffiliated voters liked the proposal as well.
As for putting the Guard to work near the shelter, Republicans were almost evenly split on that notion with 47 percent either "strongly" or "somewhat" supportive and another 47 percent opposed to some degree. The vast majority of Democrats (76 percent) and unaffiliated voters (61 percent), on the other hand, were against using the Guard for such a purpose.
State and local governments have been working feverishly during the past three years or more to mitigate the negative impacts on the Rio Grande district. The area around the homeless shelter has become a magnet for drug dealers and drug buyers.
Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown has stepped up patrols. The effort, he said, has paid off in more arrests and a 6 percent drop in crime.
Brown acknowledged, however, that more needs to be done to stop drug trafficking and treat those suffering from addiction and mental illness. Increased jail beds and more treatment beds are central to fighting the scourge of the opioid epidemic and affiliated heroin trafficking there, he said.
Homeless addicts who stay at the shelter or who camp nearby are preyed upon by dealers, according to police. Not least, people drive from across the Wasatch Front to buy drugs near the shelter. It has become a major distribution point for heroin.
In calling for a homeless czar, Hughes said elected officials are too politically vulnerable to propose more strident measures against drug dealers and users in the area, including hundreds who camp on sidewalks despite a city law banning the practice.
"I worry," the lawmaker said, "that we're not ready to do the things necessary to clean that area up."