(KUTV) The police effort to flood the troubled Rio Grande area with three times as many officers, in the wake of several recent murders, has ended.



But Wednesday night, police kept their mobile command center in the middle of 500 West, just south of 200 South, as a visible sign of their presence.

No murders were reported in the area since Friday, when extra officers were assigned.

Still, some felt little change over the weekend and early this week.

"It seems like the same old, same old in the area," said Sydney Rich, a young professional who is unafraid of living in the Rio Grande neighborhood, even after what she's heard and seen. "We have a business over here that had its windows smashed just a few months ago."

Maribel Villanueva said she did not sense more officers.

"To be honest, I did not notice the increase in cops," said Villanueva, who works are a local restaurant. "But we still had the homeless people over here, bothering the customers."

She and others also reported finding a trail of blood on a staircase, in a converted warehouse, just north of Pioneer Park. What became of the bleeding individual is unknown.

The Pioneer Park Coalition, which has long pushes for moving the homeless shelter, said over the last several days feces were smeared outside another business.

"This is nothing against the Salt Lake City Police Department," said Dave Kelly, spokesman for the coalition, made up largely of business interests. "Without police being down there consistently, it's not going to move the needle."

Police said they are still there, and the mobile command center may allow officers to respond more forcefully to emergencies.

In addition, more eyes maybe watching the area.

The Road Home Shelter said it has installed "24/7 security" to monitor inside and outside the building, to help police with their investigations.