Saskatoon’s board of police commissioners will meet Feb. 16 to review several reports and program operations from 2022, including an increase in crime.
Year-end reports prove that the 2022 year was challenging for the Saskatoon Police Service.
A report put forward by Supt. Cameron McBride claimed that the station experienced a dramatic increase in 911 and social disorder calls.
“There are currently numerous pressures that are identified, and will need to be addressed within the report,” said McBride.
The 2022 year-end report showed that the opening of the Fairhaven Emergency Wellness Centre and city population growth are new areas of concern for the Service heading into 2023.
It also highlighted many areas of increased criminal activity in 2022.
Most areas of property crime need improvement, including thefts of over $5,000 which increased 83.2 per cent over a five-year average, and non-residential break and enters increasing by 13.1 per cent.
Get breaking National news
Only three trending areas regarding property crime have seen improvement over a five-year average.
The report showed in 2022 there were fewer residential break-and-enters, and break-and-enters with firearm involvement, as well as fewer graffiti incidents, which saw a 59.4 per cent reduction over a five-year average.
In regard to violent crime, most areas remained relatively stagnant including assaults, robbery, harassment and stalking.
A vague statistic reported that there was a 54.4 per cent increase in a category labelled “other violent crimes,” however, there were no descriptions of the type of activity that occurred.
Other areas identified as needing improvement in 2023 include violations causing death, which increased by 9.1 per cent, and armed robberies which were up 19.7 per cent.
Saskatoon saw an increase in public protests last year that required officer attention.
“Officers were being called frequently to assist with patrol-related duties during peak times and we identified a significant increase in the number of parades, protests and marches in 2022 (over 40 per cent),” read a report by Dale Solie, inspector patrol support division.
As a result of the increased crime in specified areas last year, more court trials drew officers away from their daily enforcement duties.
A staffing review, scheduled to be completed March 31, will identify potential areas for growth within the service and areas for staff restructuring.
The review is expected to impact the 2024-2025 police budget, which is currently in development.
“Since the majority of the police budget covers staffing and human resource expenses, there is added pressure, to ensure fiscal responsibility while providing the best service possible,” read McBride’s staffing review report.
Comments