Reader comments
Low crime rate enviable

West Valley City. Many of our areas are a mess. They never stop or clean up tagging and they never respond to police reports or even 911 calls. If the rest of Utah is like us, you guys are way off the mark.

"By and large, Utahns are safe — and safer than in the past. The state's crime rate has plunged more than 30 percent since 1995..."

Wow! With many reports of murders, burglaries, drunk driving, assaults, etc. that I've been reading about lately, that statistic surprises me. I would have sworn things were heading in the other direction. This is one thing about which I’m very happy to be wrong.

My misapprehension may be due to my memories of living in SLC back in the 50’s and 60’s. Even though I grew up in one of the poorer areas, we felt very safe and routinely left our doors unlocked all the time. A downward trend started in the mid 60’s and accelerated in the late 60’s when a motel next door was turned into a halfway house. Crime in the area abruptly and noticeably increased, with many items once safe to leave out in the yard, suddenly becoming fodder for thievery.

The experience was a sobering lesson in how things can easily go down hill, and very quickly. I’m pleased to read in this report to learn that, currently at least, the trend is apparently otherwise.

One thing that continues to bother me about our state is that we're content alone being better than other states. We should have not only the lowest crime rates in the country, the best education, the best managed government, and everything else that's good, but we should also be the very best we can be regardless of what other states are doing.

I know it's useful and good to some extent to compare ourselves with other states to help track progress, but I'm tired of the idea that just because we're better than other states at some things we're doing well enough. We need to be the best we can be no matter what others are doing. Until then, we have little to be proud of.

If the crime rate goes lower if more criminals are put in prison, why did the state just release a bunch of prisoners. Bet that won't help out statistics any.

The most important statement in the article is "The Utah Foundation report has no definitive explanation for the drop..." Is is fine to theorize about why crime is lower in the state, but trying to make public policy recommendations without any theoretical basis means that you are simply expounding a hypothesis (like numbers of officers).

Since we don't know why crime is lower in Utah, feel free to take your pick of the following:

1. Crimes are under-reported versus the rest of the nation.

2. The LDS Church and general religious nature of the people here tend to lead to less crime.

3. See John R. Lott "More Guns, Less Crime."

4. We have the death penalty, which we have used since 1977.

5. The Utah Legislature and people here are generally Republican, which is the less permissive party, and certainly the party that is "tough on crime."

Which of the above do you think are responsible?

The uniformed officers do an admirable job in their crime reduction efforts. Although our non-violent crime rate is substantially above national average, violent crime is substantially below. Maybe we have an average number of criminals who choose non-violent rather than violent crime.

You can add a couple of more items to your list:

6. Lower achool consumption and availability.

7. Fewer sexual oriented busineses.

that Utah's "Shall Issue" Concealed Weapon Law went into effect? Hmmmmmm. Funny how no one EVER seems to acknowledge that it MIGHT have been a factor?! Anti-gun biased reporting perhaps?

To Wasn't:

Item 3 on my list, More Guns, Less Crime is a subtle reference to the effect of shall issue laws. It should be published more, IMHO. I went back and looked at the Utah Foundation report. Of course not a single mention of right to carry laws. In fact, the foundation provided nothing but statistically supported guesses as to what might be responsible for crime rates in Utah. I was no impressed.

Rape in Utah is too high. Women, sisters, daughters in particular should be educated and encouraged to carry. My personal philosophy is "you can tell your husband really loves you if he gives you a gun."

Additionally, CFP holders are permitted to carry in schools and on state university campuses. CFP instructors will often provide instruction to educators at a reduced rate (or even free).

The fact that a unknown number of school teachers carry should be subtlety published to gang members and others who might be looking for an easy target.