Situational Analysis | June 10, 2021

It's already Thursday and we are one-third of the way through June. Crazy. On this day in 1977, the Jazz chose Lusia Harris, the first and only woman drafted into the NBA. 👏👏👏

Also, I erroneously noted yesterday that the Republican Women Lead PAC was the first of its kind. It's actually the second. The first was the Republican Women's PAC started by Sen. Carlene Walker and Cheri Hendrix. Its final donation was to Mia Love. Sorry 'bout that.

Be in the Know

The recently vandalized Yum Yum food truck, which serves Filipino and Asian fusion food, got a makeover with help from Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, whose mom is half Filipino. "I stand in solidarity with Utah's Filipino community," he tweeted. "#StopAAPIHate"

Utah is poised to be a global powerhouse, say Gov. Cox and Ryan Smith. They just spoke at SelectUSA, a global conference for international business and investment. You can watch their presentation here, if you'd like.

Free fishing this weekend! No license? No problem. Here are 25 places you might want to check out (but there are many more).

Have you heard of Amazon's Sidewalk? It's a new kind of wireless network that shares some of your home's Internet connection with your neighbors via Echo speakers, smart displays and some Ring devices. Amazon just activated it. You might want to deactivate it.

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Zions Bank Community Speaker Series begins June 22, 2021

We are excited to announce the launch of our Zions Bank Community Speaker Series on Tuesday, June 22, 2021 from noon to 1:30 pm MDT. The theme of this series is to build inclusive cultures in the communities that we serve.

New Olympic and Paralympic advisor and board officers are appointed

Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox has appointed Steve Starks as the governor’s Olympic and Paralympic Advisor. In this position, he will act as a liaison with the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, where he also serves as the governor’s designee and vice chair.

Sen. Lee, colleagues question IRS data leak

Following ProPublica’s publication of a “vast trove” of taxpayer information provided to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that appears to be confidential information and protected under federal law from disclosure, Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Mike Braun (R-IN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) have sent letters to the Acting Treasury Inspector General and the Inspector General for Tax Administration to request a prompt investigation into how this IRS information was lost and to hold accountable any individuals who broke federal law by inappropriately sharing confidential tax information.

Reps Curtis, Kuster introduce bipartisan bill to support ski areas as nation recovers from COVID-19

This week, Representatives John Curtis (R-UT) and Annie Kuster (D-NH), co-chairs of the House Ski and Snowboard Caucus, introduced the Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development (SHRED) Act, bipartisan legislation to support ski areas across the country that are operating on National Forest System lands and bring money back to local forests.

Sen. Romney leads colleagues in introducing bill to reduce traffic congestion

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today led his colleagues in introducing the Smart Intersections Act, legislation which would reduce traffic congestion and improve roadway efficiency by establishing a grant program at the Department of Transportation (DOT) with the purpose of improving the functioning of traffic signals throughout the country.

Utah delegation requests meeting with President before final decision on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments

“Our delegation, tribal governments, local partners, and department officials have worked in good faith to share and listen to differing viewpoints on this issue,” the delegation wrote. “In that same spirit, we request you meet with us before making a final decision and publicly release the Secretary’s report recommendations. This is a matter of utmost importance to the communities in our state, and we remain committed to working toward a permanent, legislative solution together.”

Becky Edwards to kick off Yellow Couch summer tour at event in Provo

Former Representative Becky Edwards, candidate for U.S. Senate, will kick off her Yellow Couch summer tour at an event in her childhood hometown of Provo on Saturday, June 12th at Kiwanis Park. The event will begin at noon.

Smith’s Food & Drug to hire 1,000 associates

Smith’s Food & Drug today announced a hiring event that will take place on Thursday, June 10. The goal of the event is to hire 1,000 supporting retail, e-commerce, pharmacy, manufacturing, and logistics operations.

U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and Rep. Mike Simpson join intermountain leaders to call on Congress for bipartisan immigration solutions

Join farmers, business, faith, and civic leaders from Utah, Colorado, Nevada and Arizona as they urge Senators to support bipartisan immigration solutions at Intermountain Rising: Strengthening our Workforce Through Bipartisan Immigration Solutions on Thursday, June 10th at 10:00 AM MST / 12:00 PM EST. They will discuss how immigration solutions, including the bipartisan farm workforce bill being developed by Senators Bennet and Crapo, the bipartisan Durbin-Graham Dream Act, and the SECURE Act will help expand our workforce, bring certainty to employers and families, and help the region roar back from the pandemic.

Sens. Romney and Markey announce Asia Subcommittee hearing on strengthening partnership with Taiwan

U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Ranking Member and Chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, released the following statement today announcing the subcommittee hearing, “Strength Through Partnership: Building the U.S. – Taiwan Relationship,” scheduled for 10:00am ET on June 17, 2021.

“Our strategic partnership with Taiwan’s vibrant democracy continues to grow despite the government of the People’s Republic of China’s efforts to isolate Taiwan from the world,” said Senators Romney and Markey in a joint statement.

Number of the Day

Deep Dive: Cops Count, Police Matter

By Tyler Clancy, executive director of the Pioneer Park Coalition

There might not be any worse time in our nation’s history to be a cop. Talk to any police officer who’s worked through this past year and they’ll share with you the litany of challenges they face day in and day out. A global pandemic, civil unrest, calls for deep budget cuts, and even local newspaper artists here in Salt Lake depicting them as members of the Ku Klux Klan all contribute to the struggle of an already tough job. However, one challenge clearly rises above them all.

Since April of 2020, many departments, including Salt Lake City, have seen a decline in proactive policing. Historically, until the mid-1980s, most criminology experts assumed that policing was a matter of responding to crime, and police officers had no impact on the number of crimes committed in a given city. Simply put, the experts thought that “criminals would be criminals” and cops should just show up to “clean up the mess.” Because of this philosophy, patrol officers mostly waited around for 911 calls to come in, then responded in a reactive fashion. In the late 80s and early 90s, innovative law enforcement leaders in New York City such as Bill Bratton, Chuck Wexler, and John Timoney, decided to challenge the notion that police officers have no impact on crime.

Instead of viewing law enforcement as a reactionary force, these leaders proposed more proactive measures. Putting more cops on the street in a visible presence, using a cutting-edge program called “COMPSTAT” to use data-driven metrics about where to deploy officers, and targeting dangerous violent criminals with warrants out for their arrest all contributed to crime, and specifically murder, plummeting in New York City. Soon these innovations caught popularity with departments around the nation and other cities saw similar successes. When asked about this new strategy and the results his city saw, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton summed it up by saying: “Cops Count, Police Matter.”

Another important facet of American policing is a philosophy called “Community-Oriented Policing”. This initiative, also known as just community policing, is the simple but powerful notion that residents of a city should have 4-5 positive interactions with a police officer before they have one negative interaction. By going to schools, community council meetings, and being connected with the neighborhoods they serve, police officers are more in tune with the diverse challenges their community faces, and they build the trust necessary to be effective in solving problems.

Despite major progress in the past few years,, Salt Lake City has seen a significant increase in homicide, theft, robbery, and carjacking since April of 2020. The challenges facing the Salt Lake Police Department are well-documented and the most recent reports show our city desperately needs more officers. Where does this crime wave hit our city the hardest? Our most diverse communities and neighborhoods are disproportionately victimized by higher rates of murder and violent crime.

The crisis facing us in Salt Lake City is not an outlier from what the rest of the nation has seen. Paul Cassel, a former federal judge and current professor at the University of Utah College of Law, has done extensive research on this very topic. Declines in proactive policing strategies since early 2020 have caused murder rates to skyrocket in Chicago, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, New York, and even smaller cities such as Louisville and Milwaukee.

In a recent article for KUER, Shima Baughman, an associate dean and criminal justice researcher at the University of Utah law school, suggested that more officers on the street do not reduce crime. She cited the fact that many officers actually spend most of their time being reactive and not proactive. Ironically, that is exactly the reason we need more officers. When our police department has the resources and personnel necessary to effectively do their job, they can recommit to proactive policing, and fully invest in community policing — data-driven strategies we know are extremely effective.

In my role as director of the Pioneer Park Coalition, I constantly hear the pleas of our citizens for help as they see criminals emboldened by our weakened law enforcement presence. FOX 13’s investigative team exposed that the Salt Lake Police Department’s staffing struggles have led to dangerously slowed response times, including a 28-minute response time for “rape in progress.” With this in mind, calls to defund the police seem truly incomprehensible. Our police department needs our support now more than ever.

Since the summer of 2020, we have all been lectured time and time again about the cost of police funding and budgets, but I think it’s time we talk about the cost of crime. The fact of the matter is, police officers do impact crime. We just have to give them the resources necessary to do their job. It’s time for a return to proactive policing — creating foot patrols, recommitting to community policing, seeking out the “apex criminals” preying on our vulnerable communities, and deploying resources based on where we need to, not just where we can.

Our message to the citizens of Salt Lake City is simple: Cops Count, Police Matter.

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