Midvale transitions its police force into Unified Police Department

MIDVALE — Some police cars patrolling Midvale are already sporting the new Unified Police Department logo as the city migrates away from having its own police department.

"Everybody has a job, and nobody has to take a pay cut," said Midvale Police Chief Tony Mason, whose title will be precinct commander in the new organizational structure. "I'll be doing the same thing as before, I'll just have different patches on my uniform and will be working for a bigger, better organization. I'll have a lot more resources than I had available to me before."

The Salt Lake County Council approved Midvale's consolidation into the Unified Police Department Tuesday afternoon. Midvale's police officers will be sworn in as Unified police officers at 6 p.m. June 28 at Midvale City Park.

Much of the transition work going on now involves migrating records systems, incorporating new radio frequencies, remarking police cars and getting officers new uniforms.

"By the end of the first week in June, you'll see black UPD cars only driving around Midvale," Mason said.

Some Midvale detectives will continue to exclusively work on Midvale cases while others will become part of a pool of service detectives that handle bigger cases, the chief said. "When we're finished there will be more officers on the street."

— Steve Fidel

Twitter: SteveFidel