Tank: Saskatchewan continues to fail miserably at reducing crime

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Last week, federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre blamed the policies of the Liberal-NDP government for “one of the worst crime waves in Canadian history.”

Poilievre was responding to the release of last year’s Statistics Canada crime numbers that showed a national increase. But he neglected to further analyze the statistics that also clearly show huge differences in where crime is focused.

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If federal policies are the chief driver of crime, you would expect a fairly even distribution of crime severity throughout the nation. But that’s not the case.

Saskatchewan, a province with which Poilievre should be familiar since Conservative MPs represent every single riding, leads the way among provinces in crime again. And it’s not close.

Saskatchewan’s crime severity index (160.2) as measured by Statistics Canada based on police statistics is nearly twice that of Canada (80.5). Ontario, where Poilievre held a news conference and decried “catch-and-release” justice, ranks well below Canada at 60.9.

Saskatchewan’s 2023 crime rate, which measures crimes per 100,000 people, rose over the previous year to 12,909 — which also leads all provinces — more than twice the national rate of 5,843.

Alberta’s 2023 crime rate (7,948) declined five per cent from the previous year and Manitoba’s (10,599) dropped one per cent. Saskatchewan’s crime rate, meanwhile, jumped four per cent.

But how can that be, in a province that has been led by a conservative government for 17 years and is now the most right-wing in Canada? Conservatives are supposed to be tough on crime.

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If you believe the claim that conservative governments reduce crime, Saskatchewan’s continued presence leading the nation in crime severity and crime rates ranks among the most abject failures of the government now led by Premier Scott Moe.

As for those eager to blame the two largest cities, Saskatoon (116.3 or eighth among Canada’s urban areas) and Regina (111.6 or ninth) posted significantly lower crime severity indexes last year than the province did.

Saskatchewan RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said last week that rural communities are experiencing a crime rate 6.4 times that of the cities.

The RCMP provides policing for 46 per cent of Saskatchewan’s population, but investigates 60 per cent of the crimes, Blackmore added. And violent crimes, particularly assault, domestic violence and firearm offences have been rising for years, concentrated in the northern half of the province.

Saskatchewan’s crime severity index reached its highest point in a decade in 2023. Saskatoon, by comparison, still posted a slightly lower index than in 2019, prior to the pandemic.

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Blackmore said the RCMP intends to fill 1,047 RCMP positions, but acknowledged aggressive recruiting is needed. One-fifth of positions currently sit vacant.

That sobering information makes the province’s pursuit of a new Saskatchewan Marshals Service seem even more dubious. If an established police force like the RCMP in Saskatchewan is running into trouble filling that many positions, what chance does this new force have?

The marshals service, which is scheduled to debut in the fall of 2026, is supposed to recruit 70 officers and another 30 to 40 support staff and somehow only cost an extra $20 million a year.

Little wonder that the National Police Federation, the union that represents RCMP employees, is engaged in a campaign urging the province to halt further investment in the marshals scheme until a comprehensive plan is released and existing police forces are consulted.

There appears to be little chance of that. The province announced the appointment of the first deputy chief marshal last month. The new police force is intended to address gangs, rural crime and illegal weapons and drugs, according to a news release.

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But the Saskatchewan Party government has thus far failed to explain how a 70-marshal service hopes to do that effectively in a province the size of Saskatchewan.

Even if you somehow believe the marshals service rates as a good idea, you might well wonder why a conservative, supposedly tough-on-crime government took 17 years to come up with it.

Blackmore cautioned that law enforcement provides only one component for addressing crime, but her words seem unlikely to resonate with this government.

Phil Tank is the digital opinion editor at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

ptank@postmedia.com

twitter.com/thinktankSK

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