Salt Lake has always had a pretty high crime rate compared to the national averages. It's not at the level it was in the early 90s, when SLC was deemed one of the 25 dangerous cities in America ... but it routinely makes the list for 'most dangerous'.
I think there are multiple reasons for this.
1) Salt Lake City is still a very segregated city - probably more than most western cities. Here's a map that really drives home that point:
Because of the larger minority population on the west side, which also happens to reside in the most poverty-stricken area of the city, violent crime is an issue.
2. Salt Lake's demographics, especially over the last three decades, have skewed more toward the type who join gangs. SLC has a very active gang scene and it's been that way since the late 80s. Much of this is because of the Polynesia influence in the area. The Tongan Crip Gang (TCG) is probably one of the largest, and most influential, gangs in the valley. That doesn't even get into the other gangs like the Bloods, Nortenos, Surenos, the TOP, LBC, Big Dick Gang, QVO and GlenMob (a growing gang in the Glendale neighborhood of the city) - you can see one of their music videos here:
• Video Link
3. People don't expect it. Because they don't expect it - not much has been done to stop it. I think we live in a state of denial here. The homicide rate in Salt Lake is higher than it is in Denver and New York. It's the same with WVC. But we kinda just shrug at that because it doesn't fit the narrative.
Is Salt Lake some hole unsafe to those who dare enter its limits? Of course not. Salt Lake is still a relatively safe city. But there's a much ignored underbelly to the city that has existed for decades and no one seems to really care enough to do anything about it.