New legislation in the works to address youth gang violence in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers are working on new legislation to hold adults accountable for their role in youth gang violence. This work comes amid a string of violent crimes in the state linked to gang activity among teenagers.

 

Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, is working on legislation focused on holding adults accountable for recruiting young people to commit gang-related crimes.

Related: 2 more people charged in fatal shooting at Mount Olympus trailhead

Wilcox told Dave and Dujanovic that this drafted legislation is the first to come out of the Utah Legislature’s Organized Crime Subcommittee.

“We created it in large part based on some of the more serious adult crimes that we see. But what we found when we started looking into the problems that we were facing is that the adult crime has very much bled into the lives of our kids,” Wilcox said.

The legislation he’s working on would focus on increasing penalties for adults who recruit minors to commit crimes.

Right now, recruiting or intimidating a minor into staying in a gang is a Class B misdemeanor. That’s about the same as a bad speeding ticket, Wilcox said.

“These criminal organizations sort of laugh at our misdemeanors and throw it around.”

The drafted legislation would make it a felony to entice minors to commit serious crimes.

Wilcox said this wouldn’t affect penalties for minors who commit gang violence.

“The same juvenile penalties would apply to the child, but we’re not giving a pass to those who are directing this kind of behavior anymore.”

Wilcox said the Organized Crime Subcommittee has been working with the Salt Lake Metro gang unit and sheriff’s offices around the state to learn more about gang behavior, “To make sure that we understand what they’re doing in order to dismantle these enterprises.”

Will it work?

KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas told Dave and Dujanovic that the legislation is good in theory, but will likely be hard to enforce.

“You’re going to need a young offender to say, ‘I wasn’t going to do this. It’s not something I wanted to do, but these guys talked me into it. They coerced me to do it. They forced me to do it,” Skordas said.

Young offenders would have to face the consequences of turning in an adult.

“They’re forever looking over their shoulder [for] the people that they had turned on and that they had testified against,” Skordas said.

However, there may be some cases where a minor feels like it’s the best choice to flip against their gang.

Skordas said if a minor is charged with a serious crime and faces time in an adult prison, it may be worth it for them to work with law enforcement and prosecutors.

Those cases are likely to be rare though, according to Skordas.

Why do young people participate in gang activity?

Skordas said a lot of kids don’t have another option. 

“It’s tough because you’re either in a gang or you’re going to be hurt by the gang,” he said.

A lot of recruitment efforts result in kids committing acts to show they’re worthy of a gang.

Another element is the support kids can get from being in a gang, Skordas said.

“Some of these kids are not getting any love at home, but they sure get it with their gang members.”  

The proposed legislation has received support from local law enforcement officials like Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera and Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. 

Wilcox plans to introduce the legislation during Utah’s 2025 legislative session.

Tammy Kikuchi contributed to the reporting of this story. 

Related: One dead after shooting in Millcreek, still under investigation

Follow @samanthagherr