Democrat Greg Skordas said Monday that government needs to increase spending to put more police on the street.

"People don't want to hear" about tax increases, Skordas said during a debate at the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics. "But that's what we're going to need at some point to deal with our crime problem."

Skordas said in an interview later that he would support a tax hike "if that's what it takes to get a few more officers."

Republican Mark Shurtleff, the incumbent attorney general, seemed to rule out any prospect of him lobbying for increased taxes for more officers if he is elected to a second term.

"I don't think it's necessary," he said in an interview immediately following the debate. "We need better coordination and consolidation of services."

Shurtleff said crimes have been decreasing in Utah, as they have in the nation, in recent years.

"With those statistics, I don't think we need to go out and start advocating taxes to get more officers on the street," he said. "We have to deal with what we can within our existing budget."

Utah's 4,108 full-time state and local peace officers rank it 43rd in the nation based on population, according to statistics cited by the Utah Foundation. The nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization co-sponsored Monday's debate.

Foundation Executive Director Steve Kroes, who moderated the candidate forum, also pointed to FBI statistics that ranked Utah 13th overall in 2002 in crime categories used by the federal agency. The unusually high incidence of property crimes pulled Utah up in the statistics, which showed the state eighth lowest in violent crimes.

The one exception is sexual assault, in which Utah was the 13th highest.

Shurtleff, a board member of the Rape Recovery Center, said he has been hard at work combating what some have called "Utah's dirty little secret." He said efforts have been having an effect, with the number of reported rapes decreasing in the latest preliminary data.

Skordas, who also serves on the Rape Recovery Center board, took a swipe at Shurtleff's lack of front-line experience as a prosecutor. He noted that as former deputy Salt Lake County attorney he prosecuted numerous rape cases, adding, "I'm the only candidate for attorney general that can say that."

On other matters, Shurtleff said the Patriot Act overall has been a success in providing "handy tools" for law enforcement officers to fight terrorism and other crimes while still protecting fundamental civil rights.

Skordas said he believes the Patriot Act is "probably not" doing enough to uphold civil rights and "we need to re-evaluate it."

The candidates also differed on gun rights. While the Democrat said he would uphold state law allowing legally permitted concealed weapons in schools and colleges, he blames the Republican for stirring up the issue in the first place.

"Taking on the gun issue was a waste of taxpayer dollars and an issue that didn't need to be taken on," Skordas said, referring to an ongoing lawsuit over the University of Utah's ban on concealed weapons.

But Shurtleff said it would be "inappropriate" for the attorney general to "pick and choose" which laws he enforces.

"We're convinced that, in fact, the University of Utah's concealed weapons policy is against state law," he said. "That's the Legislature's prerogative."