Saskatoon police chief says spending needed to 'keep up with calls'
Police Chief Troy Cooper says money earmarked for Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) in the proposed city budget will go towards hiring more staff.
The preliminary budget released on Tuesday, recommends $119.7 million next year and $124.6 million in 2023 for SPS — the largest amount of the city’s service spending.
“The primary concern for us right now is the growth of the city. Saskatoon is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada. And so for our frontline officers to be able to keep up with those calls for service, we simply need to be able to increase resources to match the demand for service,” Cooper told CTV News.
Eight new police positions are set to be added in 2022 and four new positions in 2023, according to the proposed multi-year budget.
Cooper said the service is seeing an increase in violent crimes, overdose calls and cyber-related offences.
One of the new roles, a tech crimes special constable, “will help the SPS keep up with the growing and complex investigations where support is required,” according to the proposed budget.
For the first time since 2010, a forensic identification constable would be added in Saskatoon.
Cooper said the constable would be responsible for collecting evidence at crime scenes, often presented at court.
The budget also shows the police workforce isn’t hitting its diversity goals.
SPS has a target to have Indigenous people represent 14 per cent of its force.
But in 2020, only nine per cent of the workforce was Indigenous — a slight drop from the 2019 data, where 10 per cent of the workforce was Indigenous.
Still, SPS identified it is on-track to meet its “representative workforce” goals.
Cooper said SPS has an equity and inclusion director who focuses on ensuring the recruitment practices and employment policies “reflect the community, so that (SPS has) strong community confidence.”
City council has the final say on spending and can make changes to the proposed budget before approving it.
Council will make its final decisions on the budget during meetings scheduled to run from from Nov. 29 – Dec. 1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.