Salt Lake City Police Department


The Salt Lake City Police Department is headquartered in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, United States at 475 South and 300 East, one block east of the Salt Lake City Public Library. This headquarters is called the Salt Lake City Public Safety Building and is shared with the Salt Lake City Fire Department. The department was founded in 1851, under a then newly created City Charter, when the Mayor authorized a police department to be created and forty men were appointed, earning 25 cents-an-hour. The SLCPD is a member city of the Major Cities Chiefs Association in its Western Region.

Command staff

Chief of Police Mike Brown was appointed by Mayor Jackie Biskupski on May 3, 2016, and previously was the Interim Police Chief from June 11, 2015. He has held many positions throughout the department during his 28-year career, and most recently was the Commander for the Special Operations Bureau. Chief Brown completed the FBI's National Executives Institute and the Major Cities Chiefs Association's Police Executive Leadership Institute. Chief Brown is the Second Vice President of MCCA has been an active member of the MCCA Intelligence Commanders Group and Drug Commanders Group and currently serves on the MCCA Forensic Science Committee. He was recently selected to serve on the National Law Enforcement Exploring Committee. Chief Brown holds a B.S. in General Studies from Columbia College.
Assistant Chief Tim Doubt has been with the Salt Lake City Police Department since 1989. Promoted to Assistant Chief in 2016, he serves as Chief of Staff of the Police Department. As Deputy Chief he introduced the CompStat process into the department to increase efficiency, effectiveness and crime reduction. As Chief of Staff he works directly with the Deputy Chiefs to solve problems, mediate disputes, and deal with issues that do not require the direct attention of the Chief. The Chief of Staff is responsible for implementing the Chief's strategies and delivering results. As part of this, the Chief of Staff focuses on troubleshooting issues, researching efficiencies and improving department communication. The Chief of Staff has direct responsibility for the department budget and human resources.
Deputy Chief Jeff Kendrick has served in the Salt Lake City Police Department since 1995. He is currently over the Operations Bureau. This bureau includes; Patrol Operations, Special Operations and the Airport. DC Kendrick served in Patrol, Motorcycle Squad, SWAT, Gang Unit, Internal Affairs and as the Chief's Executive Officer. As a Commander, DC Kendrick has been over several units such as the Motorcycle Squad, Serious Collision Investigations, Public Order Unit, Peer Support, Salt Lake Information Center, Background Investigations, CompStat & Analysis Unit, Executive Protection Detail and the Phlebotomy Program. DC Kendrick holds a bachelor's degree from Weber State University in Criminal Justice and Sociology.

Department Structure

The Salt Lake City Police Department is divided into two bureaus, which are directed from the Office of the Chief. They are the Administrative Bureau and the Operations Bureau and each is commanded by a Deputy Chief of Police. The bureaus, in turn, are divided into seven different divisions. Three of those are geographical, where the city is split into Pioneer Patrol and Liberty Patrol, and the Salt Lake City International Airport, whose police merged with the SLCPD on December 31, 2018. Additionally, staff are also allocated to the Special Operations, Investigations, Support and Professional Standards divisions. Each division is commanded by a sworn officer with the rank of captain. Every member of the department, sworn and civilian, is assigned to one of these bureaus, divisions or the Office of the Chief.

Ranks and Insignia

TitleInsignia
Chief of Police
Assistant Chief
Deputy Chief
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Detective-
Police Officer-

[Community Oriented Policing]

Community-Supported Policing
The Salt Lake City Police Department uses a number of policing management models and practices to be effective. One is Community-Supported Policing, specifically engineered for Salt Lake City, where crime and public safety are wider community issues. The basic tenet is that the community and the police work together with solidarity of purpose to solve issues by taking responsibility and through participation. Each member of the Salt Lake City Police Department, sworn or civilian, is responsible for achieving this mission, owning the outcome and providing consideration for unique circumstances. Likewise, the community has a stake in the outcome, provides bottom-up contributions, and shares responsibility for making Salt Lake City both safer and more enjoyable.
Community Intelligence Unit
Salt Lake City is divided geographically into the seven city council districts. Each city council district has a detective assigned to it who is devoted to grassroots problem-solving within the community. Led by an experienced sergeant, the Community Intelligence Unit officers attend monthly community council meetings within their assigned district to share and receive important community information at these meetings. They also interact daily with residents and business owners to foster the trust necessary to tackle public safety issues together.
Volunteer Corps
Community-Supported Policing efforts are sustained by the Volunteer Corps which is an all-volunteer, independent non-profit with 501 status. Oversight and administration are provided by the Salt Lake City Police Department's Public Relations Unit. During the 2015-16 fiscal year, Volunteer Corp members donated more than 2,300 volunteer hours. More than 1,300 people have been trained and involved since the program's creation in July 1993. There are currently three divisions and approximately twenty active members. The ongoing mission is to recruit new members and grow the program, which is designed to promote an equal partnership between the department and the residents it serves. The Volunteer Corps is a community-based approach to combating crime.

[Crime Prevention] and Reduction

Intelligence-led policing
The Salt Lake City Police Department also embraces Intelligence-led policing. Intelligence-led Policing is a business model and managerial philosophy where data analysis and crime intelligence are critical to objective, decision‐making that assists crime reduction and problem solving, disruption and prevention, through both strategic management and effective enforcement strategies that target serious offenders and criminals who repeatedly re-offend.
CompStat
CompStat,, is used along with ILP in Salt Lake City as a performance management system to reduce crime and achieve other police department goals. CompStat meetings are held every second Wednesday at 10 a.m. with each meeting addressing a different geographical area or bureau and currently identified trends or problems. CompStat emphasizes information-sharing, responsibility and accountability, and improving effectiveness. It includes four generally recognized core components:
  1. Timely and accurate information or intelligence
  2. Rapid deployment of resources
  3. Effective tactics
  4. Relentless follow-up
Neighborhood Watch
Neighborhood Watch is one of the most effective and least expensive ways to prevent crime and reduce fear of crime. Neighborhood Watch fights the isolation that crime both creates and feeds upon. It also forges bonds among area residents; helps reduce burglaries, robberies and car prowls; and improves relations between law enforcement and the community. In Salt Lake City, Neighborhood Watch is both a crime reduction tool and part of Community-Supported Policing efforts.

Employee Representation

The Salt Lake Police Association is the primary labor organization within the department and represents over 350 rank and file officers. The association began life as The Salt Lake City Police Mutual Aid Association, established in 1911, which was a social organization formed to provide an outside support group for officers and their families. After a few iterations, in 1984, the Salt Lake Police Association was formed as an independent union, and won recognition by the City as the exclusive bargaining agent for the officers.
Since 2014, the Association stands with the Utah State AFL-CIO in legislative issues to preserve retirement, collective bargaining and other labor issues although presently not an affiliate. The current president is Steve Winters.
The Salt Lake City Police Sergeant's Association is a support organization for the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant and captain. The president of the sergeant's association is Sergeant Russell Peterson. The Salt Lake City Lodge #29 of the Fraternal Order of Police also represents many officers within the department.

High Profile Cases

The SLCPD has handled several cases in recent years, most notably the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping in 2002, the murder of Lori Hacking in 2004, the kidnapping and murder of Destiny Norton in 2006, and the shooting spree at Trolley Square in 2007 that resulted in 5 deaths and 4 serious woundings. The department also took part in the Salt Lake City Public Library hostage incident in 1994.
Footage released on August 31, 2017 show an incident between the police detective Jeff Payne and the nurse Alex Wubbels at the University of Utah Hospital. Payne asked Wubbels to provide a blood sample from an unconscious patient, and she was arrested when she refused. Wubbels was later released and no charges were brought against her. In September 2017, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office and Unified Police launched an independent criminal investigation into the arrest. The most recent case to garner international attention was the homicide investigation into missing University of Utah student Mackenzie Lueck.