Wasatch County feels like a safe place to live. But feeling safe and actually being safer are two different things — and one of them takes real work.
The Context Most People Miss
We live in one of the fastest growing counties in Utah. New neighborhoods are going up every year. More traffic on Main Street in Heber. More people moving in from larger cities, bringing different patterns and different pressures with them.
When a county grows that fast, crime typically grows with it. More people means more incidents, more calls, more strain on the deputies responsible for keeping our communities in order.
That hasn’t happened here. And it didn’t happen by accident.
What the Sheriff’s Office Was Up Against
Every law enforcement agency in the country is required to track and report crime statistics — broken into categories of person crimes, property crimes, and violent offenses. These numbers let us compare our community to others and hold our law enforcement accountable.
In a county growing as fast as ours, keeping those numbers flat would be an achievement. Reducing them takes something more intentional.
The challenge was doing that while also managing a jail, running 911 dispatch, overseeing search and rescue, handling emergency management, and keeping deputies in our schools — all the responsibilities that fall on a sheriff’s office that most of us don’t think about until something goes wrong.
What Actually Changed
Sheriff Rigby’s approach centered on several things working together rather than one silver bullet.
Getting serious offenders off the street and keeping them accountable through the probation program meant fewer repeat incidents from the same individuals. The Most Wanted and cold case initiative meant people who thought they had escaped consequences were still being pursued. Putting deputies in our schools meant relationships were being built across the community — which leads to better information, earlier intervention, and fewer situations that escalate into something serious.
It also meant holding the line on standards inside the office. Deputies who are well trained, physically fit, and operating with clear expectations carry themselves differently. That shows up in how they handle calls, how they interact with us, and how our community responds to them.
What the Numbers Show
We have seen a reduction in both person crimes — the violent, aggressive offenses that affect people most directly — and property crimes across the county.
The specifics matter and Sheriff Rigby is committed to publishing those numbers clearly so we can see exactly where things stand. Transparency isn’t just a talking point — it’s how our community holds its law enforcement accountable and how law enforcement earns the trust it needs to do its job well.
Why This Is Hard to Maintain
Keeping crime down in a fast-growing county requires constant attention. Our population keeps climbing. New developments keep going in. The dynamics of the valley are changing every year.
What worked five years ago has to be built on and adapted. The deputies who know our community have to be retained. The relationships built in our schools and neighborhoods have to be maintained. The systems put in place have to keep running.
That’s exactly what Sheriff Rigby’s plan for the next term is focused on — not starting over, but building on what’s already working and making sure the progress doesn’t slip as our county keeps growing.
Because a safe Wasatch County doesn’t maintain itself. Someone has to keep working for it — and we deserve a sheriff who will.
Sheriff Jared Rigby is running for re-election as Wasatch County Sheriff. See his full plan at sheriffjaredrigby.org.
