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Utah County victim services coordinator reports steady caseload, growing stalking and unattended‑death cases
Summary
Aronda Mendes, victim services program coordinator for the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, told commissioners the office served about 956 victims in 2025 (a 3% rise from 2024), highlighted a triple increase in unattended‑death responses and outlined goals including internships and certification to aid civil protective‑order work.
Aronda Mendes, victim services program coordinator for the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, told the commission the office served about 956 victims in 2025, a roughly 3% increase over 2024, and described a rise in complex cases including stalking and a threefold increase in unattended‑death responses.
Mendes said the program uses state grant funding and contracts with multiple cities to fund advocates and client aid. “Two of our advocates are also bilingual and Spanish speaking services,” she told commissioners, adding that training and client assistance funds support items such as security cameras for victims.
Mendes walked commissioners through a case example — State of Utah v. Taylor Wilkey — in which advocates provided immediate shelter, coordinated with law enforcement and prosecution, and helped the victim obtain stable housing and employment. She said advocates helped the victim secure a hotel after a strangulation exam, coordinated shelter options that would accept the victim’s emotional support dog, and followed the client through a 14‑day shelter placement and eventual case participation.
She described program‑level goals for 2026: expanding an internship program to increase proactive outreach, strengthening trauma‑informed relational care in partnership with licensed providers, and completing a 15‑week certified legal assistant program so advocates can draft paperwork and sit with clients seeking civil protective orders. “This course itself is around 15 weeks. So we’ll be fully certified beginning of May of this year,” she said.
Commissioners thanked Mendes and staff. During the presentation, staff clarified the program’s funding sources as a mix of contracted city funding, county support, and a state grant through the Utah Office for Victims of Crime. Mendes noted that in 2024 interns supported proactive outreach that reduced child‑abuse reporting gaps, and the office lacked similar intern resources in 2025.
The presentation concluded with no follow‑up questions; the commission then proceeded to other agenda items.
