Some campus police officers suspect the rise in crimes committed by the homeless might be connected to the ease and convenience of the expanding TRAX lines.
Between 2004 and 2007, there were two to three times as many citations and arrests involving the homeless than in 2003, the year TRAX lines were extended from Rice-Eccles Stadium to the U Hospital.
Detective Jack Fermanian of the U Police Department, who last week arrested a homeless man suspected of stealing several bikes in the past 14 months, thinks public transportation invites new opportunities for the homeless of Salt Lake City to frequent the U.
Carlson Hall, a building located in front of a bus stop and a block from the TRAX line, suffered a long string of missing property and trespassing from 2005 to 2006. At the time, faculty and staff suspected the homeless they’d seen walking around the building.
Five years ago, campus police cited or arrested homeless people eight times. However, data for 2003 is incomplete, since campus police switched their records into a new system April 1 of that year. Records prior to the date are not available, but 2003 might simply be a phenomenon or “a hiccup,” Sgt. Mike McPharlin said.
Capt. Lynn Mitchell of the U Police said that success breeds success, and since the homeless find success here at the U, they stick around and keep returning to campus.
McPharlin gave Stephen Smith as an example. He’s made a nest of the U, nabbing food from around the Union for at least five years, among other shenanigans.
While crimes committed by the homeless are still rare in the grand scheme of the U’s criminal underworld, they used to be more rare than they are today, Mitchell said.
However, this year looks to be a repeat of 2003, which might back up McPharlin’s point of view. Although campus police arrested three homeless men for theft in the past two weeks, there have only been five other citations or arrests so far this year.
This year’s decline might be related to a federal estimate in which Salt Lake City’s homelessness has dropped 18 percent. The handful of Utah’s 3,000 homeless usually don’t have any problems at the U. They are usually arrested for trespassing, or thefts of backpacks or bicycles, which are commonly pawned off for money, McPharlin said.
Most petty crimes, such as stealing cheeseburgers around the Union, are not reported to campus police.
It’s only natural that petty crimes such as the theft of food and personal items and trespassing in buildings would go up with an increase of homeless traffic, since the homeless are simply looking for food to eat and warm places to sleep, McPharlin said.