Police

Cottonwood Heights Police

ABOUT Cottonwood heights police

The Cottonwood Heights Police Department is the newest law enforcement organization in the Salt Lake Valley. Nestled at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains between Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood Canyons, Cottonwood Heights covers about nine square miles with a population of approximately 35,000 people. The city is the gateway to major ski resorts and recreational canyons, as well as offering an easy access to the valley's transportation system.

When the City of Cottonwood Heights incorporated in 2005, a contract was entered into with the Salt Lake County sheriff to continue as the main provider of police protection. This changed in 2007 when Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore and the city council opted to form their own locally-controlled police department and terminated the contract with the county sheriff. This service ended on September 1, 2008 and the Cottonwood Heights Police Department was born.

The CHPD has entered into partnerships with other municipalities to achieve an economy of scale and to provide an appropriate response to any potential emergency. This is accomplished by starting our own SWAT team allowing us to provide local control and still accomplish the goal of providing quality pooled services to keep the citizens safe, as illustrated by SWAT, CSI Crime Lab Services and the major accident team reconstruction task force.

Today, Cottonwood Heights has some of the valley’s lowest crime rates, while the CHPD has great response times and some of the highest clearance rates of crimes. The cost for the service is equivalent to what the city would have paid the county for contracted services. As the city continues to grow, the CHPD will rise to meet the needs of its residents.

In September of 2015, the CHPD entered into an interlocal agreement with neighboring cities that allows Cottonwood Heights police personnel to render aid for those jurisdictions in case of emergencies. The agreement also allows for aid from those jurisdictions in case of a major event occurring in Cottonwood Heights. You can read the agreement here.

Also in September of 2015, the CHPD was the first Utah municipality to enter into an interlocal agreement with other Salt Lake County police agencies to form a task force meant to investigate Officer Involved Critical Incidents (OICI), such as officer-involved shootings,  in custody deaths and other investigations involving police officers. You can read that agreement here. You can read the OICI Protocol here.

Nar-Can on the Way

naloxoneThe CHPD is adding Naloxone ("Nar-Can") to officers' toolkits. The nasal inhalant counteracts the effects of opiates, and can save the lives of people experiencing opiate drug overdoses.

To find out more about Naloxone, go to www.UtahNaloxone.org.


WE'RE HIRING!

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Hiring

DUI Enforcement In Cottonwood Heights

A lot of recent media reports have focused on CHPD’s DUI enforcement. These reports suggest that our officers have been part of a plot to run certain businesses away to make room for new developments. We’d like to set the record straight, and provide data that proves otherwise.

Location of DUI arrests:

Below are links to maps that demonstrate the location of all DUI arrests between 2008 and 2014. The maps show that the arrests are evenly distributed throughout the city, suggesting that our officers have been vigilant in enforcing against impaired driving no matter where they encounter impaired drivers.

2008 DUI Arrest Map
2009 DUI Arrest Map
2010 DUI Arrest Map
2011 DUI Arrest Map
2012 DUI Arrest Map
2013 DUI Arrest Map
2014 DUI Arrest Map
2015 DUI Arrest Map (current to August 2015)
Cumulative DUI Arrest Map (2008-15)

DUI Conviction Rates:

Some reports have suggested that the percentage of dismissals among DUI cases originated by CHPD officers has been extremely high. One report suggests that up to 29 percent of all CHPD DUI arrests end up in a dismissal. 2014 data proves this allegation is categorically false, and demonstrates that DUI cases originating in Cottonwood Heights show a 97 percent successful conviction rate. Of the 2-3 percent of cases that were dismissed, most were cases involving negative readings from blood samples that were screened through the limited screen performed at the state labs.

Data: 2014 DUI Conviction Dismissal Rates

The Canyon Center Development:

Some of the media reports suggest that city officials and CHPD officers are part of a scheme to rid Cottonwood Heights of 3-4 businesses along Fort Union Boulevard in order to make way for the Canyon Centre development. In truth, no plans have ever been submitted to the city that call for the removal of these businesses, and the actual plans for the Canyon Centre (already being developed) do not include any land upon which the Canyon Inn, 7-11, Porcupine Grill or Lift House are located. The map below demonstrates the actual Canyon Centre development plans, which do not include the removal of any current businesses.

Canyon Center

The Truth Behind DUI Enforcement:

 The CHPD takes impaired driving very seriously. Citizens can be sure that officers will continue to pursue all impaired drivers vigorously in order to keep our city safe.

A recent report to the Utah Legislature provides a little background on why the CHPD takes impaired driving so seriously. 

According to the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, a decline in statewide DUI arrests coincides with an increase in DUI-related deaths. 

Here are some highlights from the UCCJJ report:
  • From CY 2012 to CY 2013, DUI/alcohol-related fatalities in Utah increased from 20 to 23 and DUI/drug-related fatalities increased from 37 to 45.
  • There were 10,901 DUI arrests in FY 2014, 1,326 fewer than in the previous year. This represents a decrease of nearly 11 percent.
  • Eighty-one percent of the arrests were for per se violations that included driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both.
  • Arrests included 1,296 made during specialized DUI overtime enforcement events such as enforcement blitzes, saturation patrols, and DUI sobriety checkpoints that involved 102 law enforcement agencies throughout the state.
  • Almost 55 percent of all DUI arrests were made by municipal law enforcement agencies.
  • Almost 12 percent of arrestees were under the legal drinking age of 21 and the youngest arrestee was 14 years old.
  • The majority of DUI arrests occurred along the Wasatch Front with Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Utah Counties accounting for nearly 72 percent of the total.
  • While Utah’s population has continued to grow, the DUI arrest rate has declined steadily, with a nearly 36 percent decrease since FY 2009.
  • Seventy percent of arrests were for a first DUI offense, 19 percent were for a second offense, almost seven percent were for a third offense, and four percent were for a fourth or subsequent offense.
  • From CY 2012 to CY 2013, the percentage of total crash fatalities that were DUI/alcohol-related increased from 9.2 percent to 10.5 percent.
  • From CY 2012 to CY 2013, the percentage of total crash fatalities that were DUI/drug-related increased from 17.1 percent to 20.5 percent.
  • In FY 2014, there were 8,360 DUI cases in Utah’s Justice Courts. Among the cases resolved, 57 percent resulted in a guilty plea or verdict.
  • In FY 2014, there were 2,104 DUI cases disposed by the state’s District Courts. Among the cases resolved, almost 72 percent resulted in a guilty plea or verdict.

Cottonwood Heights believes that one DUI-related death is one too many. We will continue to vigorously enforce against those who would put lives in danger by driving impaired.

Source: Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice


 

FAQ

Police Non Emergency Dispatch/ After Business Hours
801-840-4000

Emergency
911


Cottonwood Heights Police Department
2277 E. Bengal Blvd.
Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121
Administration Phone: 801-944-7100
Fax: 801-944-7105

Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Excluding Holidays. 


MISSION STATEMENT
Vision: To be a leader within Utah Law Enforcement's Community-Oriented Policing and Administrative services.
 
Mission - The Department, in partnership with the community, proactively protects and serves the community through progressive, comprehensive, courteous and cost-effective law enforcement.
 
Values - To accomplish this mission, we are guided by the following principles and core values:
• We believe in dedicated, skillful enforcement of the law, and the delivery of humanitarian services that promote community peace through proactive, solution-oriented policing.
• We strive to maintain a level of professional competence that ensures member safety and the safety of the public. We take every complaint seriously and treat every citizen with appropriate respect and courtesy.
• We base our decisions and actions on ethical as well as practical perspectives, and accept responsibility for the consequences.
• We strive for innovation while remaining prudent in sustaining our fiscal health through wise use of resources. We consider contract services, shared services and consolidation as methods of maximizing the community's tax dollars so long as quality of service is not negatively impacted. We believe in, foster and support TEAMWORK.
• We are committed to the PROBLEM-SOLVING process and let FACTS, not emotions, drive decisions. When making decisions, we are receptive to the INPUT of members and the community.
• We continually strive to develop mutual RESPECT and TRUST among members. We arrange the department based on the behavior of the majority of members and deal with all member problems PROMPTLY and FAIRLY.
• We practice POWER DOWN MANAGEMENT by making decisions at the lowest possible level. We encourage CREATIVITY through RISK-TAKING and tolerate HONEST MISTAKES.
• We focus on the personal safety of our citizens. We view citations as a means to encourage appropriate behavior and not as a method for revenue generation.
• We will use verbal and written warnings where appropriate and formal citations when indicated. We are committed to training in the most up-to-date policing methods and will actively search out and be aware of such methods.
• We do not hold any one statistic as defining the success of an performing his/her duty, but will consider numerous factors in making such judgments. We hold inviolable the constitutional rights of every person.
• Personal honor, dedication to professional ideals, and devotion to duty shall be the ideals of our commitment to public service.
• We accept the role of being ambassadors of local government to the community by interacting proactively with citizens and businesses in non-incident situations, being professional and courteous in dealing with all individuals involved with incidents of any kind,
and rendering service to residents and businesses as needs are recognized.


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