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
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.