‘There’s no pattern to them’: Saskatoon police chief troubled by homicide rate
Saskatoon's interim police Chief Dave Haye says he’s troubled by the rise in homicides this year.
“We’re really concerned about the number of homicides we’ve had this year. We’re up to eight,” he said in an interview with CTV News this week.
The number of killings has nearly doubled over the same period last year. According to Saskatoon Police Service data, there were a total of 12 homicides in 2023.
Haye says the thing that makes these cases challenging is the lack of pattern.
“There is no pattern to them … some are related to drugs, some are related to gangs, some were actually just a terrible accident,” Haye said.
Two homicides occurred just this week — a 25-year-old man was fatally shot, and a 24-year-old woman was found dead in a basement suite.
Police said they still investigating these two homicides, and they haven’t released other information.
“Our investigators are working hard, gathering evidence and hopefully we identify and we will identify the people who’re responsible,” Haye said.
The interim police chief said of those eight homicides, police have laid charges in six of them.
According to the Saskatchewan RCMP major crimes unit, there was 50 per cent increase in the number of homicide victims in their detachment areas from 2019 to 2023.
According to the RCMP’s January report, 20 homicides were reported in 2019, compared to 31 in 2020, 33 in 2021, 42 in 2022, and 30 in 2023.
When it comes to persistent concerns about the perception of crime and safety in Fairhaven, the Saskatoon interim police chief says it requires a whole city approach to deal with the issues there.
He said he had a discussion with the Saskatoon mayor and city manager about a whole-city approach.
“The actual solution is something other than crime fighting. When we go in where we’re working within the law that we’re allowed to work within … other organizations can actually provide solutions that we aren’t able to,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Conservatives push motion calling for Carney to testify, say it's about 'accountability'
The federal Conservatives made good on their promise to push for former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to testify before MPs, resulting in a heated political debate in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Freeland previews omnibus budget bill, proposed capital gains tax change left out
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
London Drugs stores remain closed, 'cybersecurity incident' may have breached personal data
London Drugs says it is working with third-party security experts as the company tries to reopen dozens of stores across Western Canada that were shuttered by a cybersecurity incident Sunday.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.