Police Report 37 Arrests in One Weekend on High-School Campus
- By Matt Jones
- April 09, 2021
Police in Draper, Utah, reported making 37 arrests this past weekend on the campus of Corner Canyon High School.
Police said most of the arrests were on trespassing charges, and that they included students from other nearby high schools like Park City, Riverton, Cottonwood Heights, and Salt Lake. The school has become a popular gathering place on weekends. In the past, police say they’ve seen everything from reckless driving to arson to discharge of an explosive device.
“We’ve had some fires set over there. About a month ago we had an explosive device, a small device, that was set off in the parking lot,” said Draper Police Lt. Pat Evans.
Neighborhood residents who live near the school report recurring incidents. “Tires burning out, racing,” said Bryan Brotherson, who lives nearby. “Someone’s going to get hurt, is what it boils down to, and I think there’s already been some people that have gotten hurt.”
Similarly, resident Clifford Dean said that the weekend gatherings sometimes spill out into the street. “You worry that somebody’s going to be run over on the sidewalk, or possibly walking in the parking lot,” he said.
In response, the school plans to purchase and install gates surrounding all campus entrances for a price of $25,000, said Jeff Haney with the Canyons School District. He said they’ve previously tried increasing security presence on campus and trimming hours during which the campus is open to students. He also said they’ve tried working with Draper police to get the situation under control.
Evans said police have spent years doing patrols near the area and positioned an unmarked car. “Probably for the last six months we’ve actually paid officers every weekend to be in that parking lot on overtime,” Evans said. The overtime has cost the city about $10,000.
Evans said police would ask students to leave when the grounds close, and they would—only to return. “Those officers would stay busy all night long,” he said. “This is not the first time we’ve made arrests. This was just a zero tolerance, we’ve gotta solve the problem, we’ve gotta send the message home.”
Arrested individuals are sent to peer court, and although they do face consequences for their actions, the punishments aren’t overly severe, said Evans. He said he thinks the gates will help because they’ll restrict access to the students’ go-to spot.
Haney agreed. “That’s something the district had to shoulder the cost about. So this isn’t, you know, a cheap solution by any means. But it’s one that was necessary.”