Crime drops in downtown Saskatoon, but calls remain for more policing of 'public nuisance' activity

Saskatoon police say crime has plummeted in the city's downtown during the pandemic-altered summer of 2020, but business groups say police need more resources to address "public nuisance" activity like public intoxication.

In June, eight business groups signed a letter to the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners calling for more resources to address safety concerns, particularly in the downtown and Riversdale areas. 

The Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, North Saskatoon Business Association and Saskatoon Regional Economic Authority signed the letter, along with the Broadway, Downtown, Riversdale, Sutherland and 33rd Street Business Improvement Districts.  

The letter, which will be presented to the board on Thursday, calls for a downtown policing strategy that improves public perceptions of safety by "focusing resources on public nuisance behaviour that is detrimental to the enjoyment of public spaces."

It also calls for police performance metrics to include "perceived safety" in the downtown and Riversdale areas. 

The Saskatoon Police Service said crime statistics for downtown robberies and armed robberies dropped by 56 per cent from June 15 to Aug. 15 compared to the same period in 2019. 

Downtown also saw a 19 per cent decrease in weapons offences, a 70 per cent decrease in vehicle thefts and a 46 per cent decrease in property crime. 

'Perception becomes reality' 

Brent Penner, the executive director of the downtown Saskatoon business improvement district, said perceived safety is important regardless of crime statistics because "perception becomes reality."

He said surveys had shown some people did not want to visit the downtown or Riversdale areas for safety reasons.  

"If people perceive an area to be unsafe let's work to make it less so," Penner said. 

"And if the actual crime statistics are moving in a certain way that's great too.

"I think we also have to remember there is a difference between out and out criminal incidents, so a theft or an assault or a robbery, and incidents that are still illegal and still cause concern … things like public intoxication or consuming open liquor along the street."

Letters detail concerns about people who are homeless, high

Penner also suspects some crimes are not reported and noted bylaw offences are among the concerns raised by business owners. 

Further emails sent to the board by Penner relay concerns from downtown workers about drug activity, crack pipes, drinking, littering and fighting in public areas, and a "high risk" toward the general public. 

In one letter addressed to Mayor Charlie Clark, Penner passed on concerns from someone who "had to walk in between someone who was sleeping on the sidewalk and someone who was clearly high on meth or something like it" and "pacing/running in circles and started to follow me aggressively."  

CBC contacted the author of the letter, who had written to Penner but not directly to the board, but she declined to be interviewed. 

Whether or not we move parts of the Lighthouse from the downtown core or not still remains to be seen.- Anna Pacik, Lighthouse Supported Living and Emergency Shelter

Acting Saskatoon Police Service Insp. Tonya Gresty said 10 officers who usually work with schools were redeployed to work downtown from June 15 to Aug. 15. 

"We did have a lot of concerns and calls from both the business and residents of downtown concerned about the closures of businesses and the lack of maybe general population downtown that there were concerns about property crimes increasing," Gresty said. 

She said the fall in crime during that period is likely influenced by COVID-19.

Asked if she thinks police need more resources as requested by the business districts, she said police should be only one component of the response.

"When you talk about something like homelessness being a social issue, and a very important issue to our city, using police as a treatment for that issue isn't the most appropriate treatment," Gresty said. 

Displacement from closure of former 'Northwoods'

Gresty said the forced closure in late July of the City Centre Inn and Suites, formerly known as the Northwoods, resulted in the displacement of some of its tenants despite efforts by non-profits to rehome them. 

Anna Pacik, communications manager for the Lighthouse Supported Living and emergency shelter, said the shelter was prepared to house some of those residents, but some were more comfortable on the street. 

She said a shortage of transitional housing is one of the biggest gaps in services that contributes to homelessness. 

"Transitional housing is the kind of housing that helps people to stabilize, learn how to be good tenants, take a rent [education] course, learn how to be good neighbours … and just basically learning how to be positive community members," Pacik said.  

"We need a lot of programs like that to help some folks who have had a lifetime history of trauma."

Pacik said the COVID-19 pandemic has led to better collaboration between non-profits, the Great Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, police and government ministries. 

"We've got the chamber at the table and we're really working together to find a solution that would support our folks here but also recognize that businesses downtown have to make a living," she said. 

"They have to have a safe environment." 

Lighthouse shelter not opposed to moving some parts of service

The prospect of moving the Lighthouse facility, or part of it, has previously been raised in city council discussions about public safety downtown. 

Pacik said the shelter is open to all options. 

"We don't anticipate the need disappearing so we anticipate the supports will be needed for some time yet," Pacik said. 

"Whether or not we move parts of the Lighthouse from the downtown core or not still remains to be seen. 

"We don't have a solid plan at the moment but we are always open to ideas and new opportunities and better ways to help the folks that we're helping out here."

Patrol group says it could step in with more funding

The Okihtcitawak Patrol Group (OPG) currently operates in Riversdale, assisting people on the street and connecting people to resources such as Prairie Harm Reduction, White Buffalo Youth Lodge and OUTSaskatoon. 

Delano Kennedy, the team lead at OPG, said his group already responds to calls about people who are sleeping on the street or people who appear to be high and a risk to themselves or others.

Kennedy said the group could expand downtown with more funding. 

"In a situation like that me and my team would then find that individual wherever they are and if we have located them kind of assess the situation … talk with them," Kennedy said. 

OPG can offer those services because it can build relationships and more easily approach people who need assistance without the potential of creating tension, Kennedy said. 

He said the patrol group's dynamic with vulnerable people is different than the police's.  

"Some people have issues with people in uniform so it can be quite triggering," Kennedy said.