SASKATOON — Saskatoon Police Service Chief Cameron McBride said his department is ready to address crimes in the community, relying on statistics to guide their decisions on where to put the needed resources.
In a media briefing at the SPS headquarters on Friday, July 26, Cameron said Statistics Canada's Crime Severity Index provides good news and insight into the community's challenges to stay safe.
“Regarding the ranking, compared to other areas within Canada, the numbers from 2022 placed Saskatoon at number six — sixth from the top. In 2023, that number fell to eighth place,” said Cameron.
While Saskatoon's ranking has improved, violent crime has increased, however, McBride pointed out.
“The challenge before us concerns specific Saskatoon numbers, and within those numbers, we see our crime severity rise in 2023. Specifically, the numbers for non-violent crime remain the same, while the number of reported violent crimes in the city slightly increased.”
He added that this increase is a challenge for SPS as they look closely at the community and rely on statistics to guide them in addressing specific areas of violent crime to better serve the surrounding communities.
“We look at [statistics] carefully. Based on what we see, we create a plan and either send resources into that area or send resources with specific knowledge, training and understanding of how to deal with a specific crime type,” said McBride.
“It can certainly change. We see trends change, spikes, or momentary increases in criminal activity. It's so important to be agile and responsive. Our frontline police, doing that work in the community, give us much insight.”
It is also essential that members of the community in the neighbourhood share information since their cooperation and trust in their police officers are what SPS values most.
“What we value most is the community's trust in us. Communicate with us, tell us what they need and what's happening. One of my focuses moving forward is how to keep that line of communication open in the best way possible to ensure that we fully understand what's happening and what the community needs,” McBride added.
