Arrests and Cases Adding up for New VPA Safe Streets Task Force
FBI and Valley Police Alliance Release ‘Task Force Report’ to Communities

The Valley Police Alliance (VPA) Safe Streets Task Force has made 158 arrests, responded to nearly 225 gang-related calls, and is currently investigating approximately 350 cases. These statistics cover the task force’s activities over a four-month period, from January 2011 through April 2011. During those same four months, task force officers and agents seized 11 weapons, including six firearms, and made 346 contacts with individuals suspected of being involved with gangs.

Thirty-six local, state, and federal officers and agents are assigned to the VPA Safe Streets Task Force. They work together side by side, day in and day out, to combat gang-related activity along the Wasatch Front and into Summit County. The task force is sponsored by the FBI and the Valley Police Alliance. It is housed in a Salt Lake-area facility separate from other government offices.

The VPA Safe Streets Task Force, which was officially launched last fall, uses a multi-faceted approach to address gang-related issues. While several officers assigned to the task force work to address gang violence on the streets, others may be assigned to work in-depth, long-term gang investigations. This provides the VPA Safe Streets Task Force flexibility when a case reaches the prosecution phase. Depending on the circumstances and the facts of an investigation, the task force may present a case for local or federal prosecution.

Participating agencies include the West Jordan City Police Department, the Sandy City Police Department, the Utah Department of Public Safety, the Utah Department of Corrections, the West Valley City Police Department, the Salt Lake City Police Department, the South Jordan City Police Department, the Draper City Police Department, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the FBI. The VPA Safe Streets Task Force also has received the support of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.