Where most police street checks happen in Saskatoon
Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) says all of the 189 contact interviews conducted by its officers last year complied with policy.
"With the policy now firmly established, ongoing contact interview activities can be expected to continue at the new moderate levels but with very high policy compliance," SPS said in a report to the Board of Police Commissioners to be received as information at Thursday's meeting.
The SPS report, completed annually, comes after the Saskatchewan Police Commission introduced a new provincial policy on contact interviews in 2018. In a contact interview, commonly known as a street check or carding, officers approach members of the public for identifying information. The approach has been criticized for being implemented unjustly. In Ontario in 2019, a judge found that officers there have disproportionately stopped black and Indigenous people.
Under the Saskatchewan policy, the information officers aim to obtain must be more than general information common to the community and not related to a specific incident or offence. A member of the public's participation in a street check is voluntary and all street checks must be noted and submitted to the police database.
Authorized reasons for conducting street checks include:
- The lack of any apparent reason for the person to be in a particular area, such as a commercial or industrial area late at night when those premises are closed
- The person's actions, behaviour or demeanour raise a concern regarding their purpose or safety
- The person appears lost, confused, frightened or in need of help.
Under the policy, police cannot conduct a street check just because a person's location is in an area known to experience high levels of criminal activity and/or victimization. Police also cannot conduct street checks on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, gender or other grounds protected under human rights legislation.
Street checks in Saskatoon appear to have been concentrated downtown and along 20th Street last year, according to a heat map in the report. Smaller hotspots include 115th Street in Sutherland, the Idylwyld and 33rd Street area, and around Warman Road and 51st Street.
A heat map of street checks conducted by Saskatoon police in 2021. (Saskatoon Police Service)
The report says the number of street checks being conducted by Saskatoon police has declined following the implementation of the policy. In 2020, police conducted 239 street checks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
Six Canadian children repatriated from detention in Syria, Global Affairs Canada says
The Global Affairs Department says six Canadian children have been repatriated from detention in northeastern Syria.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
TikTok sues to block prospective U.S. app ban
TikTok sued Tuesday to block a U.S. law that could force a nationwide ban of the popular app, following through on legal threats the company issued after President Joe Biden signed the legislation last month.