From Deseret News archives:
Feeling unsafe in Salt Lake
Most in poll fear crime is up; statistics say different
Twenty-nine percent of the 413 respondents said they believed the city was definitely or probably more safe today than it was 10 or 20 years ago. But 52 percent said they believed the city was probably or definitely less safe from violent crime. Another 19 percent did not know.
But a peek at crime statistics gathered by the Salt Lake City Police Department shows in this case, public perception does not fully match reality.
In 1976 there were 12 homicides in Salt Lake City. That number grew to 19 by 1986 and 20 by 1996. In 2006, however, the city recorded just 8 homicides. Through Friday, there had been 7 homicides in the city this year.
Likewise, the number of reported rapes grew from 107 in 1986 to 152 in 1996. But in 2006 there were only 98 reported rapes, according to police.
Overall, however, violent crime in the city was down 3.6 percent over the past 10 years. The department's statistics do show violent crime rose 16 percent since 1986 and 51 percent since 1976.
Salt Lake City's current population is about 181,000.
Salt Lake police detective Jeff Bedard said that doesn't take into account the huge daily influx of people who come into the city for their jobs a substantially higher number than in decades past.
A 2005 Census report estimated Salt Lake City's daytime population at 313,000 people. In cities of at least 100,000 people, only Irvine, Calif., sees a greater daytime swell in its population than Salt Lake City.
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