MEET ROSIE
I am honored to serve Salt Lake County and address the important public safety needs of our residents and visitors from a community-first perspective. My 29-year law enforcement career has formed my simple philosophy on policing, treat everyone you encounter with kindness and respect.
In my time as Sheriff, I have taken deliberate steps to strengthen trust between law enforcement and the diverse populations of our county through transparency and community-oriented policing practices. This includes providing more opportunities for women and minorities who are seeking careers in law enforcement.
Thank you for visiting my website to learn more about me and my approach to public safety as I seek re-election to continue these efforts.
Safety
Empathy
Compassion
Community
What we are working on
Alternatives to incarceration
Most individuals arrested and booked into a correctional facility will return to our communities at some point. While incarcerated, the goal is to help that individual so that they do not continue to commit crimes when they are released. A traditional corrections setting is not always the best mechanism to make that happen which is why I have supported a variety of alternative options from treatment to supervised release. These alternatives also ensure that we maintain bed space for violent offenders.
Mental health & addiction
A significant portion of the calls for law enforcement involve a mental health or substance use issue. Many times, the incident has not risen to a criminal level sometimes no criminal act has happened but the person in crisis poses a danger to others. In either case, law enforcement is the only resource available. It is critical that law enforcement officers receive adequate training to help a person in crisis, it is equally important that our community has the resources available to help the person.
Victims of crime
Violent crime is on the rise to include drug and gang violence. I strongly believe that law enforcement must take a strong role in combatting and enforcing laws which protect our communities from violent crime. I support the Metro Gang Unit’s efforts to investigate crimes related to gangs in the Salt Lake Valley. Both the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Unified Police Department work closely with State and Federal Agencies to ensure that our streets are free from gangs, guns and drugs. Both agencies I oversee work closely with other law enforcement partners to ensure that drugs are seized before making it to the streets and in the hands of our communities’ members who are drug addicted.
Domestic Violence is also on the rise, I am committed to working closely with advocates who work to protect victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Prevention and enforcement are important to ensure victims of these types of crimes feel safe.
In the news
Behind The Badge: Sheriff Rosie Rivera’s rise to the top
SOUTH SALT LAKE (ABC4) – From a teenage mother and a high school dropout to the head of Utah’s largest law enforcement agency, Sheriff Rosie Rivera’s life is a story of perseverance.
Her 28-year law enforcement career has included time with the gang unit, the undercover unit, and the investigations unit, but it all started because of a TV show she watched as a little girl growing up in Layton.
“There was a show, “The Mod Squad” that had a female detective, so I grew up around that,” she tells Behind The Badge.
