Over 4,000 reported missing in Saskatoon last year

Youth make up the majority of people reported to Saskatoon police as missing, according to a report from the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS).

The SPS delivered the report to the Board of Police Commissioners on Thursday. It shows the service had 4, 270 missing person reports last year.

"Missing persons is one of those reports that touches the entire organization, from our communications division to patrol and up to criminal investigations, so any opportunity to make that process work better we're going to seize upon,” SPS interim Chief Dave Haye said.

The report shows habitual missing persons, meaning someone who has been reported missing two or more times in a specific period, account for nearly 90 per cent of all missing youth reports.

“It is a small number of individuals that contribute to a disproportionate number of incidents,” SPS detective sergeant Aaron Moser said.

The number of missing persons has increased by about 27 per cent from last year, the report said.

“Every one of those reports puts pressure on our response protocols. As those reports continue to go up, they require more and more capacity to investigate,” Moser said.

The report notes there are some underlying contributing factors including mental health, addictions, poverty, homelessness and racism.

Moser said SPS is focused on reducing the number of habitual runaways and missing persons.

“We have a number of initiatives to push those numbers down, where we’re able to,” he said.

He said the ‘Missing Youth Saskatchewan App’ has helped.

“The app is a modified risk assessment tool, that essentially allows a worker in a group home to go through a series of questions, and then it helps them make that decision as to whether or not to report the child missing,” Moser said.