TRAX crime: Parking lots targets for vandalism, robbery, assault
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Launched:04/27/2007 10:48:47 AM MDT

Posted: 7:13 AM- There's no question that for many commuters, light
rail is a cost-effective alternative to freeway gridlock and high
gas prices.

But KSL News reports today that there is another cost for some
Utahns who park their cars at TRAX parking lots to catch a train:
crime.

In just two years at least 300 cars were stolen or vandalized.
KSL says its also found reports of dozens of robberies, multiple
acts of lewdness and sexual assaults.

Last January a woman was followed off the train after dark and
raped at the edge of a TRAX parking lot. The police report says
apparently no one was around to hear her cries for help.
Utah Transit Authority has 23 private police officers and has
promised frequent patrols of those parking lots. But KSL reports
that during an 18 hour period staking out lots, it logged only two
brief UTA patrol car visits.

Nonetheless, UTA Police Chief Ross Larsen insists: "I feel like
we are delivering for the safety of our passengers."

But KSL found that police logs in Salt Lake City, Murray,
Midvale and Sandy reveal that in just two years, they've responded
to TRAX lots more than 1,300 times.

That's nearly two incidents a day.
"Our primary focus is always the safety of our passengers as
they travel," Larsen counters.

Actually, UTA told KSL that it devotes more of its law
enforcement resources to making sure passengers pay. "If we take
care of the little things, such as people who evade a fare, then
other lawlessness is suppressed," Larson claims.

KSL found that in Denver, transit security goes further;
authorities there have put up video surveillance cameras.
Larsen argues that cameras may not be all that effective in
deterring parking lot crime. But KSL found that in Denver, crime
dropped 312 percent with the video technology.

In Utah, the main crime fighting strategy is a twice-yearly
campaign to stick yellow cards on windshields - twice a year. They
remind riders to hide valuables and lock up.