SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 5, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The Salt Lake City Police Department’s Central Patrol Division Homeless Resource Center Squad conducted a safety and drug interdiction operation Wednesday in the Central City neighborhood.
A press release issued Thursday by the SLCPD PR Unit said, “HRC officers conducted an operation to observe, identify, and arrest people engaged in illegal conduct inside and around Taufer Park.
“HRC officers developed important information that will benefit them in future operations and with general investigations.” the press release said.
The SLCPD Homeless Resource Center Squads are “designed to enhance the safety and well-being of both the unsheltered population and the surrounding communities” at, and around, the Gail Miller Resource Center and the Geraldine E. King Women’s Resource Center.
“The department aims to balance its duties of enforcing the law, prioritizing public safety, and reducing victimization while showing compassion and empathy for the city’s unsheltered community.”
A first of its kind study, released in August by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, said there were 216 deaths among Utah’s homeless population in 2023. According to the report, those experiencing homelessness in the Beehive State had 10 times the death rate of the general population.
