Changes to Unified Police Department and sheriff duties

Changes to the Unified Police Department are coming. Some of the information out there has not been entirely accurate, so I thought it might be helpful to share some insight. This past legislative session, state legislators decided to remove language about the Unified Police Department (UPD) from state statute. This meant UPD would need to operate by interlocal only, and without the state giving specific guidelines. ​

This legislation originally removed the county sheriff as the CEO of UPD, as many cities questioned whether it was a conflict of interest with the sheriff wearing two hats. But when the sheriff’s association and Sheriff Rivera met with the legislative sponsor, they supported just removing the UPD language altogether from state code. 

Unified Police Department is a governmental agency created by interlocal agreement. It serves areas such as Millcreek, Holladay, Midvale, unincorporated Salt Lake County, and the townships. The board can choose their CEO, but for years they have just kept the county sheriff as the CEO. This has created some heartburn for cities not in UPD who wonder if there is appropriate financial separation between UPD and the countywide sheriff services. I have also been asked about this and have been participating on a committee to gather more information. 

All of our county residents receive great countywide public safety services from the sheriff’s office. Some of these countywide services include the statutory duties of the sheriff, such as operations of the jail, warrants and extraditions, and search and rescue. There are additional countywide services that provide a countywide benefit such as drug court, metro gangs, major investigations and drug enforcement, and canyon patrol.  

For those who are UPD officers or live in UPD service areas, rest assured that leaders from Millcreek, Midvale, Holladay and other areas are working hard to ensure UPD remains a stable and top-notch police agency to take care of your needs. There will just be one difference and that is a cleaner separation between your policing agency and the county sheriff who represents all areas of the valley. I believe this will give UPD a better chance to grow and thrive. It will also help other police agencies rest assured that there are no conflicts of interest, and all agencies will be represented well by the sheriff’s office. 

As a Salt Lake County Councilmember, I believe funding transparency is vitally important for all county services. This is especially true as it relates to law enforcement services that are provided on a countywide basis. The tax dollars used for these services come from residents and all taxpayers throughout the county. When deciding which programs to fund on a countywide basis I provide careful consideration to determine the usefulness of these services to your community, if the current resource allocations and service levels are appropriate, and the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the programs.