Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office and Unified Police part ways Monday

MILLCREEK — The officers wear green, again, instead of blue.

The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office and the Unified Police Department believe that will likely be the biggest difference visible to the public starting Monday, when the two law enforcement agencies officially part ways.

At 10 a.m. Monday, approximately 60 officers who were members of the Unified Police Department will be sworn in as Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies. A dozen others were sworn in on Friday. Most, if not all, of the 70 officers, however, will retain the same duties as before, according to the department, so essentially the same faces will be performing the same tasks as before, but with different uniforms.

The tilt

This change is the result of bill HB374 which passed in 2023 and forced the sheriff's office to separate from the Unified Police Force.

The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office was established in 1849 and continued to provide services to Salt Lake County for 175 years.

But Rep. Jordan Teuscher, a Republican from South Jordan who co-sponsored HB374, said residents in towns like his are taxed twice: once for their municipal police force and once for the unified police force, which is funded by county taxes. He also argued that the model creates a conflict of interest because the county’s elected sheriff is also the CEO of the unified force. A separate police chief oversees the day-to-day operations of the unified police department.

Last year, Sheriff Rosie Rivera said she would reluctantly support the bill. But Unified Police will not be disbanded, because the communities that currently provide Unified Police Services have chosen to continue their interlocal agreement for law enforcement services under the direction of a board of directors.

What this means for residents

Rivera will remain sheriff, while Jason Mazuran will continue to be the police chief of the Unified Police Department.

Specialized units, such as the Metro Gang Unit, DEA Taskforce and Search and Rescue, will again be overseen by the sheriff's office, as they were in 2010.

Unified Police will provide patrol services in the communities of Kearns, Magna, Midvale, Millcreek, Holladay, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, White City and the Town of Brighton. The sheriff's office will patrol the unincorporated areas of Salt Lake County, which has a population of about 10,000, as well as the Cottonwood Canyons.

Members of the Sheriff's Office will return to their green uniforms, while Unified Police will continue to wear blue. Vehicles patrolling the canyons will also display the “Salt Lake County Sheriff” logo. But most specialized units, like the Metro Gangs, have unmarked vehicles and their officers wear street clothes, so there will be no visible change. The SWAT team will be under the direction of the Unified Police Department.

The sheriff's office will still be based near 3300 South and 900 West, while the unified police department will operate out of its Millcreek station, near 3300 South and 1300 East.

The non-emergency phone number will continue to be 801-840-4000 for all residents.