{"id":28829,"date":"2022-02-16T13:40:28","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T13:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=28829"},"modified":"2022-02-16T13:40:28","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T13:40:28","slug":"utah-property-crime-spiked-in-2020-exceeding-the-national-average-experts-arent-sure-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/16\/utah-property-crime-spiked-in-2020-exceeding-the-national-average-experts-arent-sure-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Utah property crime spiked in 2020, exceeding the national average. Experts aren\u2019t sure why."},"content":{"rendered":"

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Editor\u2019s note<\/b> \u2022 This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.<\/i><\/p>\n

Josh Kivlovitz woke up one morning to a flurry of phone alerts about suspicious credit card activity. He got up to look around, worried something was wrong.<\/p>\n

His TV was still in the living room, but the backpack he\u2019d left near it was gone. His two bikes were leaning against his desk, but he didn\u2019t see the laptops he left on top. His wallet wasn\u2019t on the coffee table, and the bowl where he sometimes left his keys was empty. When he looked outside, his car was missing, too.<\/p>\n

Kivlovitz, who is a social worker, said he doesn\u2019t resent whoever took his things because he assumes they needed them. They also stole a hat and sweater, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a convenient target. I forgot to lock my door; I have things of value in my one-bedroom apartment that were easy to access,\u201d he said. \u201cIt makes sense to me that this was something that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

FBI data shows that Utah\u2019s rate of property crime is higher than the national average. And while reports of property crime in Utah and nationwide trended downward in the last decade, Utah\u2019s numbers jumped in 2020.<\/p>\n

Experts who spoke with The Salt Lake Tribune couldn\u2019t say why.<\/p>\n

Michelle Jeffs, an associate criminal justice professor at Weber State University, said property crimes generally aren\u2019t pre-planned. Thieves strike when they find an easy target, like Kivlovitz\u2019s unlocked door or an unattended package<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kivlovitz viewed his home\u2019s burglary and other thefts like it as a byproduct of Utah system failures, including skyrocketing rent prices and a dearth of mental health and substance misuse treatment. Substance misuse, poverty and peer pressure \u2014 especially for teenagers \u2014 can drive these crimes, Jeffs said.<\/p>\n

University of Utah law professor Shima Baradaran Baughman said an appropriate police presence can deter property crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo in short,\u201d Baughman said, \u201cthe reason why Utah\u2019s property crime rates might be higher than other states is because we do not have enough police presence to act as a deterrent for crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Property crimes also are often lower priority cases for police, since no one is typically in imminent danger. Police make fewer arrests in such cases compared to violent crimes, data shows.<\/p>\n

Salt Lake City police spokesperson Michael Ruff said that\u2019s because there\u2019s often less evidence, such as blood, clear video footage or witnesses. And without evidence, a case can\u2019t go forward in court, Jeffs, a former Weber County Attorney\u2019s Office prosecutor, said.<\/p>\n

What the data shows<\/h2>\n

In 2020, Utah reported 111,321 property crimes \u2014 up 11.8% from the year prior. Larcenies and thefts alone increased by more than 12%, according to the Department of Public Safety\u2019s annual crime report.<\/a><\/p>\n

The spike seemed to be fueled by a significant jump in car-related thefts, data shows.<\/p>\n

According to DPS summary reporting data, vehicle theft reports surged<\/a> from 5,872 in 2019 to 7,921 in the next year \u2014 a 35% increase.<\/p>\n

Reports of people stealing from cars \u2014 or car parts and accessories, including catalytic converters<\/a> \u2014 also increased significantly in Utah compared to 2019, federal crime data shows.<\/p>\n

Mandy Biesinger, a field service supervisor with the Department of Public Safety, said the agency doesn\u2019t draw conclusions on the police data it collects annually to send to the federal government and compile in Utah\u2019s yearly crime report.<\/p>\n

But Biesinger said some property offenses did stick out to her in 2020 \u2014 car thefts, and a 40.7% increase in arson offenses in 2020, which she attributed to civil unrest that summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that that was kind of a weird thing in 2020,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if I was law enforcement, I would be paying attention to that statistic, though. And for 2021, I would want to see that going down. I wouldn\u2019t want that to be the new norm.\u201d<\/p>\n

The data only captures the crimes that get reported though.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, people don\u2019t tell police they\u2019ve been victimized. That\u2019s especially true for victims of property crime, Salt Lake City police Detective Joshua Ashdown said in November.<\/p>\n

For instance, according to bike enthusiasts \u2014 and online bike registries \u2014 2020 was a record year for bike thefts<\/a>. Yet DPS data shows bike thefts have been steadily declining since 2016.<\/p>\n

Investigation limitations<\/h2>\n

Kivlovitz, the social worker, said he didn\u2019t want to call police when his things were stolen, but his insurance claim required a police report. Kivlovitz felt conflicted because he\u2019s also an organizer with the prison abolitionist group Decarcerate Utah.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hopeful that maybe (with) this experience, I could recognize that there are some (police) functions that are working,\u201d he said, \u201cand that was not what happened for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police did find his car parked within walking distance of his apartment. But even though security camera footage captured video of a man using his stolen credit cards, and Kivlovitz tracked his laptop to an apartment complex, officers never located his other stolen items.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had a picture of the guy, and they had a potential location of where the laptop was, but still nothing came out of it,\u201d he said. \u201cOr if it did, nobody told me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruff, the SLCPD spokesperson, said tracking apps and devices can give police an idea of where a cell phone or computer is, but they also may show the item in a house where it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Officers also can\u2019t get inside without a resident\u2019s permission or a warrant, and he said judges aren\u2019t likely to sign a warrant based on a tracking app alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I can do is knock on the door and say, \u2018Hey, this individual says their phone was stolen and it\u2019s showing them it\u2019s in your house.\u2019 And if they say, \u2018Yeah, we\u2019ve got it,\u2019 (that\u2019s) great,\u201d Ruff said. \u201cBut if they don\u2019t, what are the chances that that phone\u2019s ever going to be seen again? It\u2019s pretty slim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can property crime lead to more crime?<\/h2>\n

Biesinger said data doesn\u2019t show a link between property crime and violent crime. But it\u2019s easy to see how they could be connected.<\/p>\n

If someone opens an unlocked car door, finds a gun and takes it, that\u2019s a property crime. If that gun is later used in a robbery \u2014 or to shoot someone \u2014 that\u2019s a violent crime. One of those scenarios happened in Salt Lake County last April.<\/p>\n

A man shot at two sheriff\u2019s deputies<\/a> with a gun that police later learned was stolen about a month prior. One of those deputies lost an eye, while law enforcement returned fire and killed the man.<\/p>\n

Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera and Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill held a joint press conference in October urging gun owners to lock up their guns<\/a> to avoid similar crimes.<\/p>\n

DPS data doesn\u2019t indicate that stolen guns are driving Utah\u2019s increase in property crime. But gun thefts in the state are persistent.<\/p>\n

There have been 900 or more gun thefts in Utah each year since 2016<\/a>. Gun sales also broke records in 2020 \u2014 the same year Utah reported increases in burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.<\/p>\n

FBI data shows homicides involving firearms in Utah have almost tripled since 2011.<\/p>\n

Last week, Unified Police Department investigators, led by Rivera, busted a burglary ring.<\/p>\n

Deputy Chief Justin Hoyal said police began investigating after a theft report in Holladay. Police ultimately recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of apparently stolen merchandise \u2014 skis, bikes, tools, dental equipment, luggage, an old Cabbage Patch doll \u2014 from three storage units and a home in the Salt Lake Valley.<\/p>\n

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(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Unified Police Department Deputy Chief Justin Hoyal presents stolen items that were recovered in a recent burglary ring bust at a news conference in Salt Lake City, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. FBI data shows that Utah\u2019s rate of property crime is higher than the national average.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Hoyal said this bust was the biggest in recent memory, but it wasn\u2019t representative of most property crimes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is obviously very targeted,\u201d he said. \u201cThis individual had plans for what he was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man police suspect is responsible got away before officers served a warrant \u2014 in a stolen car, Hoyal said. Among the thousands of items seized: multiple guns.<\/p>\n

Deterrence and better data<\/h2>\n

Baughman, the University of Utah professor, said unlike violent crime \u2014 which isn\u2019t \u201cdeterred\u201d by a police presence but \u201cdeferred\u201d until police leave \u2014 more police officers or security guards in an area have been shown to reduce property crime.<\/p>\n

Police across the country reported low staffing numbers in 2020. SLCPD was down more than 60 officers last June<\/a> and earlier that year moved detectives off their normal beats<\/a> to help fill patrol shifts.<\/p>\n

Ruff said detectives have since resumed their normal duties, and Police Chief Mike Brown said at a Feb. 8 City Council meeting<\/a> that his department was now down just 38 positions.<\/p>\n

But Baughman said more staffing isn\u2019t necessarily the answer to this problem. Instead, she said officers need to spend more time preventing and solving crime.<\/p>\n

Jeffs remembered victims of relatively minor or impersonal crimes, like vehicle burglary, who still feel bitter about what happened years later. Some lost jobs. Many feel uncomfortable in their homes, afraid the perpetrator will return. And they never got their stuff back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think sometimes people who commit property crimes don\u2019t see the impact. They just assume that either the retail establishment can cover the loss or the person they\u2019re stealing from is going to be just fine,\u201d Jeffs said. \u201cBut whatever it is, it affects us as a community and affects individuals when property crime occurs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baughman said in her research that a reason poor communities and communities of color often distrust police is because they don\u2019t believe law enforcement will help them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people do not trust police to solve crime, knowing that they have not solved crimes they have witnessed, they will refuse to report crimes to police,\u201d she said, \u201cand then police continue to be unable to solve serious crimes because of lack of witness participation.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said police should work to understand why communities may not be reporting crime, which could build relationships and trust, and lead to more reports.<\/p>\n

Then, better crime data could lead to more effective policing, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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