WEST VALLEY CITY -- The shootings in West Valley City last month have elicited numerous comments on websites and comment boards exacerbating stereotypes about crime in my city. As mayor, I do not intend for these to go unanswered. I am extremely proud of my city, its residents and its police department, and I hope the following facts will help illustrate why.
We are a large city
People who wonder why a West Valley City crime story appears on the news more often than one about their own town forget how big we are. West Valley City, with a 2010 census count of 129,480, has as many residents as Saratoga Springs, Centerville, Highland, Farmington, Herriman, Brigham City and Holladay combined. We are Utah’s second-largest city and cover more than 35 square miles.
On a per capita level, West Valley City’s violent crime and property crime rates are lower than several Utah cities, townships and unincorporated areas. Nationally, our crime rates are average for a city of our size. Are there cities in Utah with lower crime rates than us? Of course. Is crime in our city as bad as some imagine it to be? Not by a long shot.
We are improving
Although rape and arson were up slightly in 2010, every other category of crime dropped last year:
- Aggravated assaults down 2 percent
- Motor vehicle theft down 3 percent
- Theft and larceny down 5 percent
- Burglaries down 6 percent
- Robberies down 11 percent
- Homicides down 25 percent
This marks four straight years of overall crime declining in West Valley City and five straight years of gang crime declining. In fact, police calls at the Valley Fair Mall are half of what they were two years ago, yet traffic there is up 57 percent. West Valley City today is the safest it has been in years.
We feel generally safe
I smile but am slightly annoyed whenever I hear someone come out to my city who says, “It’s not as scary here as I thought,” or something similar. Our resident survey earlier this spring showed that 90 percent of city residents feel safe in their neighborhood, and rightly so.
Despite the high-profile violence that makes the evening news, 90 percent or more of those incidents are happening either between gangs or in a domestic violence situation. Tragic as each of these are, regular people minding their own business and living their lives statistically have more to fear from texters driving or skin cancer from sunburns.
Our police department is top notch
Frankly, one of the reasons you hear about a situation involving WVC PD on the news so often is because they are really that good at catching the bad guys. The incident the night of Friday June 24 is an excellent case in point.
In Salt Lake City, Jesus Florentino Merino held up and robbed a convenience store and kidnapped a taxi driver at gunpoint. In Taylorsville he robbed another convenience store at gunpoint. He doesn’t live in West Valley City and had not committed a crime in our city, yet when Merino was passing through our city, our officers were alert enough to recognize the vehicle and pursue.
Outsiders who monitored the police scanners noted how cool, calm and collected the officers were, and their professionalism helped ensure that no bystanders were harmed in a high-speed chase that resulted with Merino shooting at the officers and officers shooting back. Sadly, the headlines weren’t, “West Valley police get regional crime suspect.” Instead they were, “Officers shot in West Valley City.” Our heroic officers put their lives on the line not just to make our city safer, but to protect the entire region.
Our future improves together
West Valley City and all cities have plenty of room to improve on creating safer communities. I applaud our residents who participate in neighborhood associations, report suspicious activities, lock their cars and homes, and take pride in living in West Valley City. I also appreciate allies outside of our city that support our efforts to turn our city around and to continually improve. The city council and I will continue to support the tremendous efforts of the men and women in blue as they work to protect your family and mine.
Mike Winder is the Mayor of West Valley City, Utah, and was recently named 2011 "Best of State Mayor."