Saskatoon Police Chief Troy Cooper says more resources will be going into the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood following three homicides there in the past 10 days.

“Over the course of the next number of weeks you’re going to see a visible police presence there. There's going to be an increase in uniformed officers in patrol cars. You’ll see increased traffic initiatives in that area, just a general increase overall in police presence.”

Plainclothes officers and guns and gangs units will also be concentrating in that area, he said. Those officers will be able to take action, but more importantly the police service wants people to know they are available and staying in the community.

“We’re doing our best to be present and be visible and that’s our current strategy.”

Police are investigating the city's eighth confirmed homicide of the year after the discovery of a 52-year-old woman's body in an apartment in the 200 block of Avenue V South Friday afternoon.

Hours before that, police were called after reports of an injured person in the 300 block of Avenue T South where life saving measures were unsuccessful. The death of that 45-year-old man has been ruled a homicide.

Those were the seventh and eighth homicides in Saskatoon this year, equaling the total for 2018. One suspicious death is still under investigation.

Cooper said the three most recent homicides in the area do not seem to be related to each other. While the investigations continue, it is not believed any of the attacks were random, he said.

Twenty detectives and 30 patrol officers have been involved in the investigations, he said.

However he also said enforcement is a short-term solution to complicated social issues, and police have a role to play in them.

“We are involved in things like Strengthening Families programs, the HUB model of policing, the cadet program, school liaisons, that sort of thing.

“We know that housing is important. We know that poverty reduction strategies are important and those are the things we’re involved in as well.”

Cooper said the year has seen some positive trends, including reductions in armed robberies, weapons possession, vehicle theft and fraud.

He also said Pleasant Hill has many great locations where police are not challenged by violent offences.