Saskatoon police commissioners discuss quarterly crime stats

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Saskatoon police leaders noted rising poverty continues to affect crime trends as they presented the city’s board of police commissioners with crime statistics for the second quarter of 2024.

Deputy Chief Darren Pringle answered questions about the report at Thursday’s board meeting.

He started by noting the period from April 1 to June 30 was a busy time for homicide investigators; five homicides were recorded in the second quarter after six were reported between Jan. 1 and March 31.

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Investigations of all six homicides reported in the first quarter have concluded with charges, along with two of the five homicides noted in Thursday’s report.

Beyond clearing homicide cases reported this year, Pringle highlighted successes in making progress on historical crimes.

While it didn’t happen during the period covered by the report, Pringle noted the recent conclusion of a search of the Saskatoon landfill to locate the remains of Mackenzie Trottier, who had been missing since 2020.

Pringle thanked board members for their recognition of the officers and landfill staff involved in the search, while taking time to single out a contracted heavy equipment operator identified only as “Neil” for his care and commitment during the search.

This year has also seen police file murder charges stemming from investigations started in 2023, 2020 and 2006. Pringle said these charges and the landfill search for Trottier’s remains were “a testament to how the major crimes section in Saskatoon doesn’t quit.“

The second quarter of 2024 saw a rise in violent crime coupled with a dip in property crime compared to the same time last year, Pringle noted. He said this echoed trends seen in the first quarter of the year.

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Overall, police logged 1,320 violent crimes in the second quarter, up by just over 10 per cent from the 1,194 reported for the same period last year.

Property crime was down by about 10 per cent, with 4,537 incidents compared to 5,052 over the same period in 2023.

Pringle noted the rising incidents of violence recorded in the statistics are generally not “your classic bank robbery or liquor store hold-ups.”

Rather, he said “deteriorating socio-economic conditions” are fuelling a rise in thefts of food and other necessities from stores, causing a rise in violent confrontations between perpetrators and loss prevention officers.

Even with the reduction in property crime, Pringle noted overall calls for service have continued to rise, leaving police to try to manage more work with the same number of officers quarter over quarter.

Part of the police response has involved redeploying officers. Pringle noted this was done in Operation Clampdown, an 11-day blitz conducted in late June using officers pulled from various units to do frontline work responding to in-progress crime and enforcing arrest warrants on known violent offenders.

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The operation saw police make 117 arrests and lay some 182 charges against 61 people. Various weapons were also seized. Pringle noted these ranged from knives and machetes to firearms, including a staple gun rigged to fire 22-calibre cartridges.

Pringle told the board warrant enforcement is a higher priority in light of recommendations delivered earlier this year by the inquest into the 2022 mass stabbing incident on the James Smith Cree Nation, in which 11 people were killed by a man with a history of violence who was subject to outstanding warrants for his arrest at the time.

He said Operation Clampdown was a way to do “effective” warrant enforcement using available resources, particularly as police were also diverting dozens of officers to the search for Trottier’s remains at the same time.

Pringle said police have also begun having members of the tactical support unit devote time when they aren’t on tactical calls or training to doing warrant enforcement work.

While these officers had previously been assisting patrol, Pringle said police leaders felt they were “the only extra piece” available to try to make more progress on warrants.

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Along with the weapons seizures, charges and arrests, Pringle reported that Operation Clampdown appeared to have caused a “trickledown” effect of reducing crime in some areas.

Asked by Mayor Charlie Clark to address concerns that more warrant enforcement work could lead to community concerns about racial profiling, Pringle said any operations would typically target a specific area or issue.

He told the board police aware of the dangers of “over-policing” and said operations are planned with an eye to ensuring police don’t appear to be targeting individuals “based on how they look, or simply where they are.”

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