Crime data from the University of Utah show increased attacks against U. Health workers

Salt Lake City – The Department of Public Security of the University of Utah was employed in 2024 and, according to the annual report of the crime statistics of the department, took over over 75,800 incidents.

Remarkable concern was the increase in attacks against workers in healthcare who rose by 54% – from 176 cases in 2023 to 271 in 2024.

“Since I was in this position, this has been an area that was a problem for me,” said Keith Squires, Chief Safety Officer at the University. “We always work on how we can reduce these numbers.”

Squires added that the department in the Covid years also recorded an increase in attacks in the healthcare system, but he is not sure why 2024 saw such a big leap.

“In this business, unfortunately, I think that some employees are part of their job to take over some of the behaviors,” said Glenn Smith, director of the University of Utah. “We only want to support our employees to ensure excellent patient care and feel supported that they can do it safely.”

In order to address the problem, the department has put together a partnership with the management of the healthcare system in order to enable improved de -escalation training for employees, an increased presence of the safety regulations in areas with high risk and improved reporting systems in order to enable faster response times in emergencies.

“We have strengthened the support of the employees to report emergencies or threats, including Code Bert, the threat assessment team, direct emergency signs and the bit team (behavioral intervention model). In addition, we have developed extended training modules for all new employees,” said a statement from the University of Utah Health. “We also offer additional resources to help those who have dealt with attacks, including the resilience center, the employee aid program and a large number of psychiatric services that are available to employees through the Huntsman Mental Health Institute.”

At the positive end, the report showed that vehicle crimes recorded remarkable crimes, whereby car burglaries decreased by 18% and car theft by 33%. According to the statement, these improvements are due to improved parking patrols, better lighting and an extended cover of the surveillance camera on the parking facilities on the campus.

In addition, the bicycle thefts remain in 83 incidents from 2023 to 2024, despite increased bicycle use on campus.

“This stability reflects our investment in additional secure bicycle parking spaces, increased control persons and our educational campaigns at proper locking techniques,” said Squires.

Of the more than 75,000 incidents in 2024, just more than 14,000 affairs were related to police matters, he said.

Another remarkable snack bar from the 2024 data is the university's transfer program. Instead of pursuing criminal charges, the department referred 133 students to the dean of the student office in 2024.

“This approach combines the students with measures to account for accountability and support resources,” said Squires.

In the future, the department plans to continue its “data -controlled” approach to the security of the campus by highlighting the commitment of the community and transparent communication.

“The extensive security strategy of the university comprises various targeted interventions, from an improved security infrastructure to the alternative resolution paths for students. While the challenges, especially in the safety of health care, indicate the data that focused on focused security measures in several key areas,” says the university's declaration.