Making Salt Lake County safer

Mayor Wilson believes that she has no higher responsibility than keeping Salt Lake County residents safe, whether from criminal activity, environmental emergencies, drug abuse, and even pandemics.   

Leading our county through crisis after crisis

Mayor Wilson is a crisis-tested leader, capably marshaling resources, coordinating multiple levels of government, and leading Salt Lake County through an array of crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Magna earthquake, a hurricane-force windstorm, and once-in-a-generation flooding. She is a proven crisis manager and responsible leader.

Expanding access to urgent mental health care

• Salt Lake County donated the land and $5 million for the construction of the Kem and Carolyn Gardner Mental Health Crisis Care Center in South Salt Lake (seen below) — a 30-bed receiving center and 24-bed acute care unit to help Salt Lake County residents experiencing urgent mental health crises. This facility will allow law enforcement and first responders to bring qualifying individuals directly to mental health and detox services rather than jails or hospitals — helping break a futile and dangerous cycle.
• To help before the Crisis Care Center is ready, Salt Lake County opened a temporary receiving center and doubled the intake capacity for people in psychiatric or substance use-related crises.
• The Wilson Administration worked with community partners to increase the number of beds in mental health residential programs.  
• Salt Lake County supported Volunteers of America’s Theodora housing project, Odyssey House’s Sunstone and Jasper boarding homes, and Valley Behavioral Health’s Valley Steps program, providing housing for seriously mentally ill individuals.

Prioritizing pay for our police officers and prosecutors

Mayor Wilson has consistently proposed and supported funding to strengthen the ability of the Sheriff’s office, Public Safety Bureau, Unified Police Department, and District Attorney’s Office to keep our communities safe. 

Mitigating historic floods and upgrading flood controls

• When historic snowmelt-flooding threatened neighborhoods throughout Salt Lake County in 2023, Mayor Wilson made sure the county government was prepared and coordinated with municipal and state governments to minimize the impact of the flooding on residents and businesses.

• Mayor Wilson is modernizing the Surplus Canal Levee Systems to minimize risk to county property owners and meet the latest U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA standards

Fighting the opioid epidemic

Mayor Wilson has been a long-time champion of addressing the opioid epidemic. She founded the county’s opioid task force as a Council Member and recently used some of the funds won from a legal settlement with opioid manufacturers to address both sides of the opioid epidemic — public safety and public health. She invested in hiring two drug-enforcement officers to join the regional narcotics task force and partnered with the University of Utah to offer treatment for mothers and their babies struggling with opioid misuse.

Closing the gun show loophole at county facilities

Mayor Wilson closed a loophole that allowed people buying firearms at gun shows at county facilities to avoid undergoing a federal background check. Background checks for all firearm purchases are now required at Salt Lake County gun shows.

Navigating a safe course through the the Unified Police Department transition

As the county has grown and the policing needs of its communities have evolved, the Unified Police Department’s separation from the county Sheriff’s office has created some uneasiness, and been a complex logistical and financial challenge. Mayor Wilson has worked publicly and privately to ensure no county resident is made less safe and vital public services continue to be offered without interruption. 

Resources for individuals leaving the Salt Lake County jail 

Mayor Wilson, in coordination with the Sheriff, launched a novel Jail Release and Reentry Program. Too often, inmates are immediately confronted with homelessness, addiction, untreated mental illness, and other challenges that frequently result in a return to jail. The Jail Resource Re-entry Program now provides support and access to needed services as inmates exit the jail. These services include assisting with upcoming court cases, transportation, enrolling in Medicaid, access to mental health and substance use treatment services.