Tattoo removals for former gang members resume — with a new laser funded by Utah lawmakers

The Salt Lake County Metro Gang Unit and University of Utah Health have resumed their joint tattoo removal program — thanks to a new laser financed by the state Legislature.

The free program began in 1991 and allows people to start anew after they leave the “gang lifestyle,” according to its website. The Salt Lake Area Gang Project screens applicants, including juveniles, to determine their eligibility for the program, by ensuring they have not been involved in criminal activity for about a year.

Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera estimated that around 200 former gang members have been helped by the project since 2006, but that came to a halt about a year ago — when the program’s tattoo removal laser broke.

There was no funding for a new one, Rivera said, but Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, D-Salt Lake City, stepped in.

Dailey-Provost said a staff member at the Capitol — Mikenzie Orozco — connected many of the state’s lawmakers with the metro gang unit, and Rivera mentioned the broken laser in a listening session for state lawmakers.

“I recognized immediately that the state of Utah and the Legislature has a vested interest in playing a role in making sure that we do everything we can to help people that are coming out of this lifestyle looking for a new future,” Dailey-Provost said, “because that’s what we need to do better at in our criminal justice system. Everybody makes mistakes.”

The new laser came with a $175,000 price tag, said Dr. Bradford Rockwell, a professor of plastic surgery at University of Utah Health. Dailey-Provost sponsored the legislation that paid for the new machine — which has now been in operation for about six weeks, with 41 ex-gang members waiting to begin treatment, Rivera said.

Bradford said one patient commented that the new laser hurts less during treatments, and that it works faster — which means, hopefully, fewer appointments per patient. Depending on the tattoos, the old machine typically took six to eight treatments, with four to eight weeks between each appointment.

“When I made the decision that it was time to change my life and do things a better way, the tattoos were an issue with me,” said Kirk Orton, who has participated in the tattoo removal program for more than four years.

“I didn’t like what I saw,” Orton continued, it “didn’t represent who I was on the inside. And as the tattoos have come off... I’ve been able to wear short-sleeved shirts, be comfortable, and be proud about where I’m at in life and what I represent.”

The program is completely free, and participants aren’t limited to Salt Lake County, Rivera said. Individuals can find more information about how to participate in the program on its website.