SLCPD Provides Update on Crime Trends, Response Times

SALT LAKE CITY — Today, Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown and Mayor Erin Mendenhall provided an update on the city’s crime trends and released the patrol response times for December of 2021.

From the first week in 2021 through Sunday December 26, 2021, overall crime in the city was down 5.4%.

In that same time, over the five-year-average, citywide crime dropped 1.3%.

The final 2021 CompStat summary report is expected to be out no later than January 15, 2022.

In the latest CompStat report, issued January 4, 2022, five of the seven city council districts saw a drop in both violent crime and property crime during the last 7 days and the last 28 days.
“While that is great on paper, I know there are people and families in our community who don’t see crime improving. Take for example what happened on December 26, 2021. In the middle of the afternoon, officers responded to an apartment complex that sits about 1,000 feet from an elementary school and a church. Our officers got on scene and found six bullet holes that pierced through two apartment units. Someone was home when those bullets ripped through one of the apartments, and we are incredibly lucky those rounds didn’t injure or kill someone. This is just one example of why we must keep doing everything we can to reduce crime. On paper, violent crime is down 10% but for the family living in that apartment, crime – and the fear of future crime – is likely at an all-time high,” said Chief Mike Brown.

Police data shows in the last 28 days, SLC saw a 33% increase in the number of weapon offenses.

Chief Brown and Mayor Mendenhall also discussed improving response times, which is a goal of the department’s Revised Crime Control Plan.

“I’m happy to report that because of the heart and dedication of our officers, we are seeing that improvement happening,” said Chief Brown.

In December 2021, the average response time for a Priority 1 call was 10 minutes and 46 seconds. That’s a 2 minute and 12 second improvement from November 2021 and an improvement of 6 minutes and 48 seconds from the department’s 2021 peak in August 2021.

In their concluding remarks, both Chief Brown and Mayor Mendenhall continued to express their appreciation for the members of the Salt Lake City Police Department.

CompStat is a performance management tool based on the goal of continuous improvement. CompStat utilizes computer statistics and is a combination of management philosophy and organizational management tools.

The SLCPD’s CompStat & Analysis Unit generates CompStat Reports every Monday.

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