SASKATOON -- A new type of officer is set to hit Saskatoon streets in the spring.

The idea for Alternative Response Officers (AROs) moved forward during a Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Tuesday.

Saskatoon Police Insp. Darren Pringle wrote the report about AROs that was brought to the police board.

Pringle said AROs won’t carry a gun and will wear a different uniform than regular constables. The officers will only carry pepper spray and a baton.

The Saskatoon Police Service plans to hire four of these special constables. The officers will work day shifts. They’ll focus on community outreach and their duties will be less risky than regular cops, according Pringle.

Some duties of an ARO include: transporting suspects from police headquarters to provincial court, walking the beat, guarding crime scenes and connecting vulnerable people to the right supports.

“We’re not trying to just build a cheaper police officer … We are actually trying to build something instead of a police officer, something that will augment police officers,” Police Chief Troy Cooper said in the meeting.

Scott Thompson, University of Saskatchewan sociology professor, wonders whether this new unit will address concerns raised during the Black Lives Matter Movement.

“My fear is that we're just again asking the police to take on more and more training, more styles of policing, when other solutions might be better,” Thompson said, referencing more mental health workers attending calls with cops.

Thompson questions the purpose of the unit – if it’s truly to better bridge police and community relationships, or if an Alternative Response Officer is just a fancy term for “cop without a gun.”

“I'm wondering if the city was pushing back on budget and saying, ‘Can we have a cheaper version of officers?’ You know it could be that's what they're doing, and they're just wrapping it in this package of ‘community engagement,’” the professor said.

The development of the ARO program first began in 2017.

In the Tuesday police board meeting, Pringle said community policing has changed as crime has increased.

“I grew up in the community policing era, back when we had half the calls we have now. That was a really fun time to police because you could really make some relationships. And that’s what we’re trying to do with this program,” Pringle said.

“We really want to bring back that community feel to the beat, frankly.”

The four AROs will be part of the pilot program, focusing mainly on the downtown and Riversdale areas, according to the meeting.

The special constables could hit the street as early as May.