Global News was given the opportunity to spend roughly two hours in Downtown Saskatoon with a Special Constable from the Alternative Response Unit.
Alternative Response Officers (ARO) carry a unique role within SPS ranks. Typically, they can be spotted in the downtown and Riversdale communities. Their responsibilities range from community engagement and education to enforcement and assisting in investigations. Saskatoon currently has 10 AROs.
“We try to support the vulnerable people first and foremost,” said Marcus Mcken, a special constable with SPS. “Supporting them with their mental health, their addictions, their shelter, sometimes it’s just helping them find food for the day.”
AROs also assist the business community, whether its theft or damage to property.
Our journey started on 2nd Ave South. Mcken told us it was one of the busier streets.
A simple greeting is how ARO’s start their work.
“Sometimes that simple hello can turn into a life story” Mcken said.
Community engagement is one of the key pillars of their day to day. With the conversations a relationship quickly forms between the officer and the person in need. During our time with special constable Mcken, we often found ourselves catching up with the city’s most vulnerable. We were just getting introduced to these people, but Mcken had known them for years.
“There is a lot of success stories, we have people that come up to us often and we built a relationship and got to know.” Mcken added.
“They will tell us that they’ve sought treatment or counselling and they got into rehab. Some people get really excited when they find a place to live.”
He shared a story about someone who was living on the streets for quite some time. Heavily addicted to drugs. Later Mcken learned this person turned their life around. Found a passion and sobered up.
“If I’m not getting calls for that and there’s not issues in our community, typically I find that a success.”
Mcken says its rewarding to know they can support people in their struggle with addictions and other complex issues.
“Its start with talking to people and treating people as people.”
Mcken is from Saskatoon. He worked downtown in a patrol capacity for six years, with just over two of those years being with SPS. Building relationships with the people he sees daily have taken time, but he believes its crucial to assisting them.
“Not everybody is ready for help, but we do what we can to support that person in the moment.”
He comes from a social work background. Prior to joining SPS he spent 3 years with the Community Support Program. His desire to work with people pushed him to join the Alternative response unit.
The first hiccup in the patrol occurred on the corner of 20th St and 2nd Ave. Constable Mcken spotted a pair of men sitting against a wall, with a pipe. He suspected there was meth inside of the pipe and quickly confiscated it, while informing the duo the action was illegal. The two were upset, but the incident was resolved rather quickly. We trekked north back to the cruiser that was parked on the corner of 21st St and 2nd Ave to dispose of the pipe and grab some water.
“It’s not so much the possession of the pipe that is a concern to us. It’s what’s in the pipe and how they are going to react to what they just consumed.” Mcken said. “We are not here to take away their pipes and needles that they are using, we hope they are using them in a safe manner.”
Mcken says police still have a duty not to allow public consumption so taking the pipe away, he hopes will deter any further use. However, he understands pipes and needles are relatively accessible.
We now head west on 21 St. towards Midtown Mall.
A key partnership is with some of the community support groups. The shelters, food bank and friendship centre. Part of training for new recruits is to familiarize themselves with the different partnerships and what they offer. It teaches them of the services that are offered around Saskatoon and how the officers can utilize them to assist the individual they work with.
“We try to keep in touch with our community partners as much as possible.”
Mcken says the partners will often call dispatch and ask for AROs assistance directly.
Mcken believes that drugs and drug use is on the rise in the city. “The open drug use, across the city is on a whole other level, people are pretty comfortable with having open pipes and needles out in the open.” He says when he first started patrolling downtown, the substance abuse was more associated with alcohol.
“It’s (drugs) become a much more affordable option.”
He adds drugs have become an easier option for people to cope, and it’s easier to hide.
While summer presents its own challenges for Marcus and his team, the cold Saskatchewan winter can be hurdle as well. Typically, Marcus works four, ten-hour shifts, averaging around 12 kilometers of walking per day. Regardless is plus 30 or minus 30; AROs are expected to be patrolling the streets and offering their supports.
“I think the general population of Saskatoon doesn’t realize how many people are unhoused through the winter and how many survive and sleep all winter long, outside.”
Mcken adds the sad reality is, some don’t survive the harsh winters, recalling a few individuals he knew.
He says most of the people he assists are eager to move to shelters when the temperatures drop, but the beds fill quick.
As a work around, part of their community engagement sees them working with downtown business owners. When it gets colder, some offer restaurants, malls and shops as a temporary warming shelter for people.
“There are people out there living in these conditions, and for me to be dressed in nice clothing provided by the service, it isn’t so bad.”
As we headed north on 1st Avenue, Mcken spoke on how he feels the city isn’t aware of the serious the homelessness situation is in Saskatoon.
“There’s a lot of hidden homelessness. People sleeping in alleyways, in places they aren’t going to be visible to the public. ”
ARO’s mandates allow them to respond to most calls as long as they aren’t domestic related or involve a weapon. This is due to the special constables not having many options for use of force, compared to regular constables. AROs work in pairs to ensure safety.
Mcken believes Saskatoon is in a transition phase and hopes that more shelters will open up in the city to house the expanding homelessness population.
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