Saskatoon police Chief Troy Cooper said officers have not given out any tickets for people failing to social distance, despite receiving more than 300 complaints.
In a press conference held over video conferencing service Zoom on Wednesday, Cooper explained how the lockdown, caused by the novel coronavirus, has affected policing in the city.
He said police are actively breaking up large groups of people, whether they see them while patrolling or if they are called to them.
“So far in Saskatoon… our attendance and our requests for compliance have been enough,” he said speaking to reporters via Zoom.
“If it’s a repeat offender or an egregious act and a ticket is required to make sure compliance occurs, then that’s what we’ll do next,” he said.
Speaking about all crime, Cooper told reporters police had received about 13 per cent fewer calls over the past nine weeks compared to this time last year.
Crimes against the person have remained consistent while property crime and reports of sexual violence had decreased over that time span.
He said domestic violence had increased by about seven per cent over the past six weeks in comparison to 2019 and that it’s part of a global trend.
“We’ve seen that when people are restricted to their homes and in a very stressed environment and there’s financial and economic impacts as well, that’s something that causes stress that could result in violence.”
Referencing the unchanged rate of crimes against the person, he said there was “a core group of people… driven by gang involvement or addictions or other factors” who would simply not comply with regulations regardless of the environment.
“Generally speaking, people are amazingly compliant. People have been incredibly patient as we go this experience.”
When asked about a recent record amount of drug overdoses across the province, he said officers are encountering drug use at about the same level and are recording the same sorts of drugs being consumed as prior to the lockdown.
“I think the overdoses that we’re seeing are just another indication of how dangerous it is to use drugs like this without some sort of medical assistance.”
Overall, he said the effects of the pandemic on the city would take a while to fully understand.
He said the police are looking to reopen public-facing services, like the lost and found office, which have been closed during the lockdown in conjunction with the provincial government’s plan to reopen. He said more information would be available soon.