SALT LAKE CITY — Earlier this year, game wardens with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources blew the whistle on a new policy requiring them to document one violation of the law every 23 hours.
Some of them felt the new “performance goal” was an illegal quota.
“It’s no longer about catching people doing bad things, but doing things in an effort to justify the numbers to meet the quota,” said one former game warden.
DWR Chief Wyatt Bubak defended the policy at the Utah State Capitol before the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee.
The Utah State Legislature banned police quotas in 2018, specifically targeting citations and arrests.
Bubak stated the “performance goal” technically follows the "wording" of the law because it only tracks an officer’s number of “violations" — different than "citations" or "arrests."
He stopped himself from saying the policy fits the “intent” of the law.
VIDEO BELOW: DNR Chief Bubak talks to Utah lawmakers
Lawmakers called in DWR to testify after a series of investigative reports by FOX 13 News.
Some game wardens admitted to pulling over drivers on the freeway to inflate their stats.
“It’s a lot easier to go out and work the highway than it is to go up on the mountain,” a former officer said.
Rep. Scott Chew, R-Jensen, stated he heard similar complaints from constituents, even before learning that FOX 13 News was working on a series of reports.
In one case, a constituent reportedly had trouble getting a game warden to respond to a wildlife-related case because they were too busy “monkeying off on the interstate writing traffic tickets.”
“I kind of laughed that off,” Chew said. “I thought that was ridiculous... Then this report came out, and I was like, ‘Woah! What’s going on here?!’”
VIDEO BELOW: Lawmakers ask DNR about officers patrolling Interstate highways
Chew stated he had nothing but praise for the game wardens who patrol his region of the state.
Crime has more than doubled since the “performance goal” was implemented.
Traffic stops on the freeway have more than tripled since 2021.
"Total numbers of violations detected is not the most accurate way to view this data," wrote Faith Heaton Jolley, a spokesperson for DWR. "Percent changes is a more accurate indicator of 'change' than total violation numbers."
DWR states it identified 105 traffic violations and 1,285 total violations from January 1, 2023 through June 1, 2024. This is before the performance goal was implemented.
During that time period, traffic cases made up 8.17% of all cases..
DWR states it identified 145 traffic violations (38% increase) and 3,087 total violations (140% increase) from January 1, 2024 through June 30, 2024. This is after the performance goal was implemented.
During that time period, traffic cases made up 4.7% of all cases.
According to the performance goal, game wardens are evaluated based on the raw number of violations detected — not percentages.
Rep. Walt Brooks, R-St. George, accused FOX 13 News of “sensationalizing” the numbers.
However, in a letter to one of his constituents, Brooks stated "there are needed changes that have to be made."
"I am very concerned about the quota and even the perception of a quota," Brooks wrote. "As I'm sure you are aware, there is a bill file being worked on to put into code some of these corrections and others, including myself are working on internal policy changes. I do want to say that in most cases I have found the department doing an excellent job and very responsive to needed changes, but in saying that I do not want to diminish the issues that do need correction."
In response, DWR released the following statement:
"The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources always has been and always will be open to reviewing policies to better serve as stewards of Utah’s wildlife and to better serve the public," Jolley wrote in an email. "At this time, we haven’t made any changes to our officer’s current performance goals."
After reviewing "recent enforcement data," DWR told lawmakers that "about 5% of all violations are traffic related and less than 2% occur on major highways."
Bubak stated game wardens are mostly prioritizing wildlife-related crime, which account for approximately 70 percent of all cases.
DWR did not disclose the period of time in which those percentages were generated.
“I’m very disappointed... I hope they shift away from it,” said Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross. “I think they have more important things to do than pulling people over on the freeway. I think that’s why we have Utah Highway Patrol.”
Weiler is now trying to implement a punishment for agencies that ignore the ban on police quotas.
“I’m a little bit concerned about it as well,” said Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield. “How does [UHP] and the Utah Sheriffs’ Association feel about you on the interstate writing tickets?”
Todd Royce, the director of all law enforcement for Utah Department of Natural Resources, admitted he has heard concerns from sheriffs.
The Utah Sheriffs’ Association has accused DWR of overstepping, not coordinating with counties on traffic enforcement.
“I think the sheriffs do a good job,” Albrecht said. “If they need help? I think they’ll call you.”
“Yup,” Royce said. “I agree with you.”
“I don’t think you should be infringing upon state highways or Interstate 15,” Albrecht said. “That’s just my personal opinion.”
Bubak said the agency does not receive any revenue from citations and that his supervisors continuously remind officers to prioritize wildlife-related crime.
Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Mountain Green, previously stated she will be summoning DWR to answer questions before the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review and General Oversight Committee.
"Why do we want to keep pumping more money out of the citizens of our state? They're being taxed enough already!" Birkeland said. "[Officers] have to meet a certain goal. Quota? Goal? Whatever you want to call it? It’s an issue."