Jose Davila IVThe Salt Lake City Police Department is getting some extra help.
It will come in the form of a dozen new officers tasked with patrolling the city’s western industrial and warehousing area.
“We know there’s going to be a lot of growth out there,” police spokesperson Glen Mills said. “As the [Utah Inland Port] begins to develop, that will draw more business to the area, it’ll draw more people to the area, and therefore, [create] a greater need for public safety measures.”
The new recruits will be funded by the Utah Inland Port Authority through an agreement with City Hall. For now, the law enforcement agency is fully staffed with 630 officers; the new officers will bring that total to 642.
Initially, the officers will work out of the department’s Pioneer Precinct building at 1040 West 700 South. The department and the authority are in the early stages of identifying land for a future physical office space in the warehouse area.
The industrial zone is seeing some street racing and construction-site crimes, Mills said.
The city was planning for the new squad before U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement bought a west-side warehouse to use as a detention center. Mills said the new hiring is unrelated to the federal facility.
Recruitment is already underway for the officers and they are set to start work by early next year once they graduate from the department’s academy program.
Jose Davila IV covers west-side communities and is a Report for America corps member. He previously worked for KUNR Public Radio in Reno, The Toledo Blade and the Yale Daily News. He appreciates tips on the west side's best food, great hikes across the state and pickup volleyball games. Es bilingüe y ama los tostones de su padre más que nada.