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Utah House approves school‑based gang prevention program and statewide suppression funding
Summary
The House passed two bills to expand gang prevention in schools and fund statewide suppression and training. Lawmakers emphasized prevention, cited growing gang membership and the cost of secure youth beds, and sent both measures to the Senate.
The Utah House voted unanimously to approve a school‑based gang prevention program and then approved separate funding to expand suppression and training statewide, sending both measures to the Senate on Jan. 28.
Representative Ray Short, sponsor of House Bill 34, told colleagues the state’s gang problem had grown—from about 900 to 1,400 members in recent years—and described the shortage of secure youth beds at Decker Lake. “It's called Decker Lake Facility. The secure bed facility that holds 40 kids,” Short said, adding that the daily cost was about “$132.80 a day” per bed and that, "if you multiply that by month, we're spending over $2,000,000 of taxpayers' money to keep these…
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