SANDY — As Sandy police officer Jake Burns rounded the corner, two teenagers, shocked to see a motor vehicle in the relatively secluded wooded area, instinctively ran.

Burns got out of his four-wheel drive Rhino 660 and chased them. His partner, officer Sioni Langi, drove up from behind and the two young boys were surrounded.

The boys, both already known by the officers from previous encounters, apologized for taking off and said they weren't doing anything wrong — this time.

"We just got arrested and stuff, and I didn't want to get in trouble again," said one ninth-grade boy. One of the boys had been busted two days earlier in the same area for smoking pot and they ran out of fear. "I'm sorry," he said. "It was a stupid move."

For officers Burns and Langi, it's all part of patrolling one of the most unique areas of Salt Lake County, the Dimple Dell Regional Nature Park, also known simply as the Dimple Dell gully. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Sandy Police Department, which patrols the area several times a week. Summer, when kids are out of school, is the busiest time of year in the gully.

The gully is 644 acres of wooded, undeveloped territory between approximately 300 East and 3000 East, just north of 10600 South. Unlike the Jordan River Parkway, there are no paved trails. The area is popular with hikers, dog walkers and horseback riders.

But it has also become popular for at-risk juveniles, including a group classified as a gang by the Salt Lake Area Gang Project.

Over the past year, an area near the start of the Dimple Dell Trailhead near 300 East, has become a known hangout for Juggalos.

Juggalos are fans of the rap group Insane Clown Posse, which has a reputation for extremely violent lyrics. Because of a continued pattern of criminal activity, and because Juggalos share a common logo and name, police classify them as a gang. About 70 percent of Juggalos, however, are law-abiding citizens, according to police. The other 30 percent are a different story.

At the Juggalo hangout in the gully, the words "Juggalo Turf" are spray painted in large black letters across a large concrete storm drain. On another area are the spray-painted initials "ICP," for Insane Clown Posse. On this afternoon, six or eight kids, one as young as 10, are hanging out. Most appear to be staying out of trouble.

Burns and Langi collect names and numbers, knowing the information might come in useful later. They advised the group to bring trash bags with them next time and help keep the litter-plagued area clean.

Once around the corner and out of sight, the officers have dispatchers check some of the names for outstanding warrants.