The Salt Lake Tribune’s Sept. 2 editorial on Operation Rio Grande peddled unhelpful platitudes and ignored the real and urgent problems of this area.
We believe the proposed safe zone on Rio Grande Street presents an option worth trying and that policymakers should be encouraged to try new avenues for dealing with the area’s difficulties and to do so quickly.
Given that we have seen previous crackdowns in this neighborhood focused principally on law enforcement typically result only in short-lived improvements in the area, we know that time is the of the essence. Operation Rio Grande has noticeably improved safety in the Rio Grande/Pioneer Park neighborhood but those gains will evaporate quickly unless more is done.
The Tribune suggests that policymakers should not pursue a safe zone because it will be fenced off from passers-by (or, more appropriately, drug dealers). Somehow, this means those inside are being corralled. Should we then also oppose the nearby shelter because it has walls, or adjacent soup kitchen because it has a roof?
The population often referred to as “homeless” in the Rio Grande neighborhood is diverse. There are those that are down on their luck and will likely find housing soon, there are those in need of mental health services, there are those in need of addiction recovery services, there are those that peddle drugs and violence, and there are many, many others.
The key to improving safety in the neighborhood and helping those in need is to match services to the needs of individuals and to address crime. In practice, this means separating criminals from others, giving appropriate punishment, and ending the culture of lawlessness on “the block.”
This is where the proposed safe zone comes in. We are excited about its prospects for addressing both problems.
One, because entry will be controlled by the state and require identification, it will be a refuge from the drugs and mayhem that have plagued the area. This has been the experience of the Catholic Community Services with its adjacent day shelter and kitchen. Criminals prefer anonymity. Furthermore, the safe zone is a necessary legal alternative so that the police can crack down on loitering in the surrounding area.
Two, the process of identification will allow service providers to learn the stories, and needs, of individuals seeking refuge. They can then be pointed in the right direction.
The safe zone is not a proposal in a vacuum. It is a direct response to the most crime-ridden area in Utah. Were that not the case, there would not be such urgency and the prospect of a fenced-off service area would deserve more scrutiny. But that is not our reality.
It is not humane to force those seeking shelter to run the worst gauntlet of drugs and prostitution within hundreds of miles to simply stay warm, get a warm meal, and have a roof overhead at night. It is not humane to ignore the pleas of residents and businesses dealing with the fallout of this epicenter of depravity.
For this reason, we support the safe zone proposal.
David Garbett is the executive director for the Pioneer Park Coalition. Dave Kelly is a board member and the public relations director of the Pioneer Park Coalition.