A new pilot program, Operation Runaway, was presented by Saskatoon Police Service at Thursday’s board of police commissioners meeting to identify the root causes of why youth run away and to employ positive support mechanism to encourage them to change their behaviour.
According to a report from Chief Clive Weighill, city police received 2,456 missing persons reports in 2016. Of those, 78 per cent were youth.
READ MORE: Saskatoon police lead the country with Predictive Analytics Lab
Central Division Insp. Randy Huisman said a group of about 30 youth make up the majority of the calls, some running away has much as 30 times a year.
The six-month pilot project that’s scheduled to begin in April will hold focus groups with the chronic runaways first.
“Really this is about us telling them that we want to sit and listen to what they have to say and we care for them,” Huisman said.
If the project is successful, it will not only help support those in need on a case by case basis, but reduce the impact on police resources.
“There are a lot of costs that go into searching for missing youth.”
“When somebody is reported missing the onus is on the police to continue searching for them until we find them. That means continued patrol division response to look for that missing person around the clock for four days,” Huisman added.
“The real cost is lives if we don’t do anything.”
READ MORE: When are Amber Alerts issued in Saskatchewan?
Operation Runaway is a multi-organization project that includes partnerships from city police, Egadz, the Ministry of Social Services, outreach support, and mental health and addiction services.
Comments