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June 2024 | Vol. 10 Iss. 6
‘YOU MATTER LIKE I MATTER’
WEST JORDAN PD REBUILDS COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORTS By Rebecca Olds | rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com
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hief Ken Wallentine of the West Jordan Police Department sees value in meeting people where they’re at. On this particular day, he was excited to participate in the department’s recurring event, “Cookies with a Cop” that had been gaining traction within the community and getting his officers interacting with kids and residents in the community. What he didn’t anticipate was the concerned mom finding him at the event and asking for his advice on how to handle her son being vetted by a local gang. “That woman was not going to walk in the front door of the police department and say, ‘My son's being recruited into a gang,’” Wallentine said. “You've got to find communication portals that will meet people where they're at. We can't just sit here and ask people to come to us.” In 2020, the West Jordan Police Department had to cut down on staff as the Covid-19 pandemic hurt the city’s finances and took its toll on the police. “We lost seven full-time positions from the police department, including everyone who had worked in human outreach and crime prevention,” Wallentine said. “You don't know what you've got until it's gone.” Four years following the pandemic, community outreach efforts from the department are still ramping up with programs like a youth cadet program and citizens’ academy restarting in the beginning months of 2024. The inspiration and focus for these programs comes from a single phrase and outlook cultivated by the department. “You matter like I matter”—a phrase Wallentine has put everyContinued page 5 Officer Teddy Barney talks with children while in uniform. (Courtesy West Jordan Police Department)
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New home for shelter program
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Outstanding teachers recognized
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WJ youth theatre