22-05-2025
Salt Lake City's gang detectives recognized as Gang Unit of the Year
The Salt Lake City Police Department's Gang Unit has been named the 2025 'Gang Unit of the Year' by the Utah Gang Investigators Association for its work over the past year.
'It's a great honor. (When) you talk about Utah Gang Investigators Association, you're talking about the most elite investigators across the state. So, to be recognized by that association is an honor,' police Sgt. Robert Tycz, a member of the gang unit, said Wednesday.
In addition to statistics such as number of felony arrests, warrants served and gun seizures, Tycz says Salt Lake's gang unit earned the honor because of its community outreach program and preventive and education programs. Last year, the gang unit made 74 felony arrests, had eight of its investigations screened for federal charges, and seized 51 guns in addition to money and drugs.
'The unit also played a vital role in solving several homicides by using its understanding of gang networks, informants and emerging trends,' the department stated.
Already this year, the unit has made 43 felony arrests and seized 48 guns.
Tycz said gang activity in the city has been steady over the past year, and the reason for the rise in arrests this year is not indicative of an increase in gang violence. It's mainly due to investigations that carried over from 2024.
However, he said officers are noticing an increase in juvenile gang activity.
'They're recruiting younger and younger,' Tycz said of the current gangs. 'They're now recruiting in elementary schools as young as 10 and 11 years old. And the complication with that is, a lot of times, those young offenders can't even be put through juvenile court because of that age.'
Salt Lake's gangs also continue to be less about territory and more about the allure of money and protection.
'That complicates our investigations, as far as we can't go into a neighborhood and say that a specific gang runs this neighborhood. You may have rival gang members living next to each other, which creates its own dynamic,' Tycz said.
Additionally, he said gang members in the past would stick with just one group, 'where now kids are what we call 'hood hopping.' They may associate with this group, and a week later they associate with this (other) group. That adds to the investigative complication. We're trying to track these kids and identify who they're rivals with or where this violence may be coming from.'
Furthermore, he said, breaking down the hierarchy of gangs today is different for investigators than 10 years ago because of social media.
'It's harder to track the structure. That structure is a lot more fluid in nature. In addition to that, the traditional investigative efforts, or tactics, don't apply to today. We do a lot of things based on social media. We do a lot of networking through there, social media apps,' he said.
But Tycz adds that recognition like receiving the Gang Unit of the Year award only motivates members of the small unit by letting them know the work they're doing is making a difference.
'They're very passionate and very committed to the work. They put in a lot of hours outside of their 40 hours. And they love the work they do and the impact they have in the community. As they see their successes, it just motivates them to work hard,' he said.
Tycz also credits the unit's partnerships with other agencies' gang units and violent crime squads for their success, noting that gang-related crime in the city isn't always committed by people who live in Salt Lake City.
