EM, AND WE DON'T REALLY HAVE THE ABILITY TO TAKE EM OFF THE STREET" MARK CHAMBERLAIN: "THE
DISTRICT ATTORNEY HAS STARTED
RELEASING NONVIOLENT
CRIMINALS" That was
Salt Lake City residents and
police a year ago.
Frustrated that repeat
criminals were being booked
and released, largely due to
pandemic -precautions. But
KSL Investigators found those
frustrations haven't -eased,
even though COVID protocols in
law enforcement have.
It's no secret..
crime is up in Salt Lake.
But jail numbers are still
30-percent below.. the pre-
pandemic average. So, how
are these open beds..
impacting an already-stretched
police force.. and the
community it's supposed to
protect? And what does
that mean.. for the Future of
the Force?
04 2:00 nats of jail bars
At the Salt Lake County
Jail, there's been a shift.
DEPUTY CHIEF MATT DUMONT: "THE
POPULATION OF THE SALT LAKE
COUNTY JAIL IS A VERY HARDCORE
GROUP. Hardcore criminals
at the county jail shouldn't
be a surprise to anyone.
DEPUTY CHIEF MATT DUMONT:
"THOSE ARE THE FOLKS THAT
RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T
NECESSARILY WANT IN OUR
COMMUNITY." It's
who áisn'tá here that's
causing debate. Almost a
thousand non-violent and
misdemeanor offenders.
When the pandemic hit, Chief
Deputy Matt Dumont said there
were two priorities at the
jail: Keep COVID out.
And don't hold accused
offenders for too long, since
courts were going to be
backlogged. MATT
DUMONT: "THEY'RE ALSO LOOKING
AT FOLKS BASED OFF OF RISK"
But as COVID cases and
restrictions have dropped,
Dumont says some of those
changes...are here to stay.
Take a look. In 2019,
nearly as many people were
booked as were released.
Here in January, 2,578 booked,
2,253 released. In May,
2,606 booked, 2,701 released.
And at the end of 2019,
both November and December had
nearly equal numbers.
Then in 2020, we see hundreds
of inmates released at the
start of the pandemic.
Now, over the last few months,
more people are staying in
jail than are being released.
The population? Well
it's still those hardcore
criminals. 89% face
felony charges. Those who
are released? Dumont says
they're usually nonviolent
misdemeanor offenders.
DUMONT: " THE INDIVIDUALS ARE
STILL UNDER SUPERVISION."
But while those offenders have
been deemed safe enough to go
back into the community, their
crimes aren't always
victimless. That's why
many are released to the
county's pretrial supervision.
DUMONT: "THEY'RE REQUIRED TO
ABIDE BY CERTAIN CONDITIONS"
From January through May
this year, 4,464 people were
part of pretrial supervision.
Of those, 776, or 17%
never showed to their
supervisor. And what
happens at the jail has an
impact on community policing.
SGT HORROCKS: "RE OFFENDERS
ARE HUGE WHEN YOU'RE WHEN
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR
REGULAR CRIMINAL BASE THAT
WE'RE DEALING WITH EVERY DAY."
Sgt Keith Horrocks with
Salt Lake City Police says
that's why his department...
nats of plan slapping the
table ...is doing
something new. The Crime
Control Plan launched earlier
this year in partnership with
federal agencies like the US
Attorney, FBI, and ATF.
It's aimed at reviewing
charges for reoffenders to see
if they rise to federal
crimes, which typically carry
bigger punishments.
HORROCKS: "NOW WE'RE ABLE TO
TAKE THAT APEX CRIMINAL THAT
THAT IS GOING OUT AND
CONTINUALLY VICTIMIZING PEOPLE
AND PUT THEM AWAY FOR I THINK
THE CURRENT AVERAGE SENTENCE
IS 33 MONTHS. SO THAT'S
IMPORTANT BECAUSE FOR 33
MONTHS." So far, 97
people have been arrested and
charged with federal offenses
in this partnership. And
for those whose crimes don't
rise to a federal level,
Dumont says the jail is
gradually seeing more inmates
staying that much longer for
their eventual release date.
MIKE HEADRICK: "ARE YOU
EXPECTED A NUMBER TO GET BACK
TO AT SOME POINT WHERE THEY
WERE PRE PANDEMIC?"MATT
DUMONT: "YEAH, I ANTICIPATE
THAT WE WILL AND WE'VE BEEN
WORKING THAT WAY FOR THE PAST
FEW MONTHS"
Now some of these
changes to the jail.. aren't
just because of the pandemic.
Utah's criminal justice
reform laws.. have also
changed bail structures.. and
release guidelines. We
have more information with
this story.. on ksl-tv dot
with this story.. more
information We have
guidelines. release
structures.. and changed bail
have also reform laws..
criminal justice Utah's
criminal justice reform laws..
have also changed bail
structures.. and release
guidelines. We have more
information with this story..
on ksl-tv dot com.