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Salt Lake City Council, Mayor Becker Oppose Relocating State Prison to SLC

Tim Slover
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker expressing his opposition to relocating the state prison to Salt Lake.

The Salt Lake City Council and Mayor Ralph Becker expressed their opposition to relocating the state prison to Salt Lake’s west side today.

The State Prison Relocation Commission has selected two sites within Salt Lake as possible locations for the prison, including one on the city’s west side. Council member Kyle LaMalfa noted that four of the five

parole centers in Utah are already located in or near the city’s west side. He argued that adding the state prison would place an unfair burden on residents.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker argued that neither site is environmentally sound. He says that seismic activity could be disastrous for prisoners.

“You do not want a site that would be the subject of that kind of catastrophic event, and where either prisoners would be trapped or prisoners would have to be released,” he says.

Cambria Beuchert is a resident of North Salt Lake. She echoed Becker’s concerns.

“In the event of a natural disaster, there’s the possibility of having these hardcore criminals be right there in my neighborhood. It’s about my kids—it’s about my safety,” she says.

State lawmakers will take up the issue of relocating the state prison during the 2015 legislative session.   

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