Is it a violating a constitutional right or maintaining safety to allow jailers to force feed an inmate? That was the debate at Utah’s Capitol Friday as Representative Derek Brown proposed legislation that would establish a process for jails and prisons to follow when an inmate refuses to eat. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on why he claims it gives prisoners more freedoms than before.
DUI checkpoints could become a thing of the past in Utah. HB 140, sponsored by Republican Representative David Butterfield, repeals authorization for law enforcement to do police checkpoints for anything other than Amber Alerts, looking for fugitives and wildlife invasive species. Butterfield says officers should instead put their time and resources into saturation patrols, which he says are more effective at removing drunk drivers from highways. He adds that checkpoints subject citizens to suspicion-less searches.
More than two years after the disappearance of West Valley City resident Susan Cox Powell, her husband and the only person of interest ever named in the case killed himself and their two boys yesterday. Police in Washington say Josh Powell used accelerants to set his home on fire when his children were brought there for a supervised visit.
A bill that sparked retribution from hackers on the Salt Lake City Police Department’s website moved forward in the Utah Senate today despite opposition from some Republican lawmakers. Democratic Senator Karen Mayne is sponsoring SB 107, which would criminalize the possession of graffiti paraphernalia if someone demonstrates intent to vandalize property. But Republican Senator Steve Urquhart was one of six Republicans to vote against the measure, saying it goes too far.
Utah kids now have protection against identify theft. Tuesday, the state launched a new program aimed at stopping identity fraud before it happens. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on how the program works and how other states are responding.
The website of the Salt Lake City Police Department was taken down Tuesday after getting hacked. A news release says odd postings began appearing on the site at 2:30 p.m., with the hacker group Anonymous taking credit. It says the hackers obtained email addresses of registered users of the site, but the department doesn’t believe personal information was compromised. The department adds the website was designed to facilitate communication with the public, and isn’t connected to police or city databases.
After a one year trial period, it appears Utah residents could be in for a quieter July. Tuesday, the legislature’s House Business and Labor Committee voted unanimously to cut the state’s fireworks period in half, limiting the days and hours they would be allowed. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on the reasons behind the new legislation, and what aspects of last year’s fireworks changes will stick.
The Division of Motor Vehicles and Utah Highway Patrol are behind one representative’s push to make it easier for law enforcement to contact someone’s friends or family after an accident. Democratic Representative Marie Poulson says her bill allows drivers to give the DMV two contact numbers that emergency personnel can access in an emergency.
Utah roads are the safest they’ve been in nearly four decades. At a news conference yesterday, traffic safety officials announced the state’s traffic fatalities are at a 37-year-low. But as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, officials say the number of deaths on Utah roads is still too high, especially among one demographic.
At the end of this month, any Utah business that offers light touch or stroking of the body as a service without a massage license could be in violation of state law. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans, the new rule enacted by the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing broadens the term “massage,” which some local business owners say goes too far.
