A decade after crack cocaine all but disappeared from street corners around the nation – taking much of the violence it brought with it – Salt Lake City police say the highly addictive drug is back, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. There is no evidence yet that the resurgence has brought back the violence, said Police Chief Chris Burbank. “You look at the mid-’90s, especially in the bigger cities, and crack was responsible for a lot of the violent crime,” he said. “It’s something we’re really concerned about.”
Statewide, arrests for possession of cocaine increased 25 percent in 2006 from the year before. Salt Lake City cops first noticed the trend at the beginning of summer, Burbank said. Undercover officers had trouble finding methamphetamine but had ready access to crack.