Saskatoon Police Services

I believe that great strides have been made in our local police force under the programs started by Chief Weighill and now furthered by Chief Cooper. Tweaks might be called for, but I will never be in agreement with any calls for some blanket defunding of the police force.

In general, I believe that people who put on a uniform and take an oath should receive our respect for wanting to help society. I know personally that the lifestyle restrictions on any person in uniform extend well beyond regular working hours or the salary paid. I am not afraid to hold any person in uniform to account, but that should never be an instantaneous jumping off point until a reasonable investigation is done which shows real cause for concern. Too often people see a small snippet of any situation and feel that they are fully informed. My experience is often that the full story takes some time and that the more detailed understanding can change real perception to what was right and wrong. It is true that all police forces have come under more scrutiny in the last decades but it is also true that positive police encounters are often not well publicly acknowledged.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to take part in various ride alongs, which I later felt were more social work than traditional policing. I attended a Civilian Police Academy in 2012 which also proved very informative. This gave me a much larger understanding of how the Saskatoon Police Service operates within our city and what types of issues and threats they deal with daily.

My neighbor was murdered one quiet morning in 2012. This kind lady was in her home with her 4 children and her husband getting ready for the day ahead. In the end, the Saskatoon Police Service determined that the perpetrators of the crime were part of the Alberta White Boy Posse Gang, an ultraviolent white supremist drug gang from Alberta, who targeted the wrong house that morning and murdered an innocent mother at home on maternity leave with her family.

I was a witness to some events of this crime and I testified at two murder trials as a result. This experience gave me an even closer view of the justice system and the operations of the Saskatoon Police Service throughout the investigation and the trial period.

Our current police are now dressed in what might have looked like SWAT gear from 20+ years ago. Blue short sleeved shirts are replaced by bullet proof vests and a larger host of equipment to try and deal with even more complex situations. Now SWAT teams tend to look like full military combat dressed individuals.

Police respond to ever increasingly violent and well-equipped criminal gangs and they put themselves at great risk daily to keep this in check and to help keep us all safe from bear spray, tasers, knives, wasps, guns, explosives, chemicals and more.

While attending various open houses in the Pleasant Hill area, I have been struck by the disparity of how various residents’ comment about safety. Some say that they feel the police never respond to their calls while others state that they feel over policed. There is a lower chance that crime is reported in these areas and this hurts the ability of police to suitably engage and deal with criminals working in the shadows.

I have had to call the Saskatoon Police Service for family mental health issues which I personally thought should have been handled by the mental health professionals instead. I was told by the mental health professionals that my calling the police was part of the process to get things better documented. There has to be a better way than this for mental health and for the overall use and protection of the police force and what its activities should generally be. Too often the police are being used as a catch all when other agencies fail or refuse to act.

People need to understand that those serving in uniform are generally the ones who run into a situation when everyone else is fleeing. It is up to all of us to better train and delegate these resources for better outcomes, regardless of the branch of service.

I believe that body cameras are a good thing but my knowledge on this issue is somewhat limited. 

The City was eager to tear down a large house in a wealthy area because they suddenly deemed it as condemned and a hazard, yet they do nothing about the numerous vacant and dilapidated homes that dot various neighborhoods around 20th Street. These houses fuel crime activities and pose a direct hazard to those that remain nearby in their own homes. I would push hard that the City finally take this situation as worthy and requiring intervention.

We all need to focus on fostering infill development in these areas.

The City of Saskatoon requires unfair fees on some infill development which hinders its ability to proceed. The more infill development we can facilitate in this area, the better the overall safety situation. This will help the police to more evenly watch over the area as crime activity wanes as a result.