Burbank said 16 suspects were chosen at random to monitor. Investigators discovered those 16, during a six-month period, were arrested an average of two times a month for drug-dealing around the park. Each of the arrests resulted an average of two hours of jail time or less, he said.

Burbank is not faulting the jail, pointing out that such short stays are the result of too many drug dealers and drug-addicted people overwhelming the system.

"There are three times as many adults seeking treatment as slots available," he said.

During the day, Ross said Pioneer Park is practically the only place to buy drugs. At night, when the park is closed, the dealers spread out into nearby neighborhoods. Thursday night, undercover officers found plenty of people willing to sell drugs between 400 West and 600 West and between 200 and 400 South. The area along 500 West in particular was busy. In some cases, officers going after one drug dealer passed other drug deals happening in plain view.

"Can you help me out?" an undercover asks a potential dealer. Sometimes the officers simply ask, "Got 20 white?" which is lingo for asking a dealer for a balloon of crack-cocaine for $20, the standard street price. And sometimes the officers don't have to say anything at all.

As undercover officers drive slowly down the street, they make eye contact with potential dealers who will nod at them. In one incident, an officer gave a whistle to two young-looking men, possibly juveniles, who gave a return nod. The officer then waved a $20 bill, and without saying a word, one man spit a balloon out of his mouth and the other walked to the car to make the transaction.

Moments later, the men found themselves in handcuffs.

After several busts Thursday night, word started to spread among dealers that police were patrolling the area heavily that night. Undercover officers moved to 600 West. There, they found a man who was on 500 West earlier now directing traffic to a dealer down the street. When the officers pull up to buy drugs, however, the dealer says he can't sell right now.

"The cops were just here. Come back in five minutes. ... I have to throw the drugs back up," he said.

History, traditions and reality

Despite efforts to clean up the park, the fact remains that for decades, regardless of what anyone has tried, the park retains its reputation as a drug haven.

One of the few exceptions is on Saturdays, when the popular Farmers Market takes over in the morning. But by night, there are few residents who would dare set foot in the square park between 300 and 400 West and 300 and 400 South.

It's a far cry from the park's roots, which at one time made that area the most important in the entire state, although the "state" at that time was actually the Mormon territory known as Deseret.