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Saskatoon Police:
2005
Forget about planes, police
need foot patrols
Les MacPherson, The
StarPhoenix, April 23, 2005
City police got their airplane,
for a few test flights, at least, but they did not get their
horses. Too bad. Police on horseback, would have been visible.
Flamboyantly so. Police in an airplane, however, are specks in
the sky.
Police visibility is important.
It reassures citizens. It deters criminals. That's why the crime
rate within sight of a police officer tends to be very low.
In Saskatoon, we rarely have
a police officer in sight. It figures that the crime rate here
is very high.
Unlike police, the result is
visible. The other week, for example, Mayor Don Atchison lamented
the disinterest by developers in the city's south downtown. Especially
disappointing to the mayor is the extent of housing development.
In spite of three different kinds of development incentives,
the in-basket for proposals is empty.
Of course, there are three
things to consider when dealing with real estate: Location, location
and location. That makes three strikes against the south downtown.
Its location is not the best. People don't feel safe in south
downtown, especially after dark. Developers would rather invest
in areas where people do feel safe, because it's hard to sell
condos if prospective buyers are afraid to get out of the car.
What would make the downtown
more attractive is a visible police presence. Circling high over
the city in an airplane doesn't qualify. Not even if the plane
pulled an aerial banner declaring: "VISIBLE POLICE PRESENCE."
The problem with an airplane
is that you can't see much from up there. From an altitude of
several thousand feet, a mugging is indistinguishable from a
chance meeting between old friends. To have any deterrent effect,
a police plane would have to fly low enough that people would
be diving for cover. This would not make anyone feel safer.
Officers on horseback would
have been better. People feel safe with the cavalry on the scene.
Also, it would be stylish to have police trotting about on horseback.
Style is important. The RCMP figured this out about 132 years
ago. But how many tourists get their photos taken with city police?
Well, they would if city police
were on horseback. People love horses. Why is a mystery. Horses
bite, they kick, they have shocking bathroom habits, and yet
people can't resist them. I mean, horses have been obsolete for
nearly 100 years, and we can't bring ourselves to get rid of
them. Kerosene lanterns we got rid of. Wood-burning stoves we
got rid of. But horses remain inexplicably popular. If city police
can get some of that appeal to rub off on them, I say Hi Yo,
Silver.
But no. There will be no horses.
Only the plane.
"Look children, way up
there. It's the police. Or possibly a fishing charter to La Ronge."
Better than a plane, better
even than horses, would be police foot patrols. Certainly foot
patrols would be cheaper, at least in theory. To lease a small
plane costs about $150 an hour, not including pilot. Horses require
constant feeding and attention. But most police officers come
equipped with feet. So why do we never see them on foot patrol?
It's a matter of searching
them out, apparently. City police reportedly are assigned to
foot patrol, albeit only occasionally. That I've never seen one
in 25 years of working downtown tells you how occasional it is.
Police abandoned the downtown before developers ever did.
Police Chief Russ Sabo would
like more foot patrols. He's constrained, however, by a union
agreement that makes all but impossible the redeployment of officers
according to demand. It's like trying to run an ice cream stand
with the same number of employees summer and winter, Sabo says.
The difference is that the
owners of an ice cream stand would never allow this to happen.
Because if they did, they'd be out of business. How the city
ever got into the position where paid staff says who works when
is for previous city councils to explain.
As I understand it, police
mostly work four, 12-hour shifts over four days and then get
four days off. Their work calendars thus shows a repeating pattern
like this: Days, days, nights, nights, off, off, off, off. You'll
notice there are only two nights in there. To get an officer
walking foot patrol seven nights a week, then, we'd have to hire
at least four new officers. Bump that up to five or six to account
for vacation and court time.
Something is seriously wrong
when you need five or six cops to get the one you really need.
Suddenly, crime begins to look more affordable.
The police association won
these concessions fair and square. And yet its members seem chronically
miserable. Perhaps they are made so by citizens who spend millions
on policing and can't seem to get what they want.
les.macpherson@TheSP.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Council may pass police
budget
Cuts win over two dissenting councillors
Rod Nickel of The StarPhoenix,
April 16, 2005
Police budget cuts are receiving
mixed reviews from the six councillors who demanded them, but
the Saskatoon police commission appears to have slashed enough
to win council's approval.
Two of the six councillors
who rejected the Saskatoon Police Service budget this week say
they'll now support it. Council reviews it again Monday.
The commission cancelled seven
proposed police officer positions, three new civilian jobs and
a mounted patrol unit pilot project Thursday, saving $354,600
this year.
Councillors Glen Penner and
Maurice Neault say they'll now back the police budget, satisfied
that the police commission worked hard at scaling it back.
"It works for me,"
Neault said. "At least they came up with $350,000. There
are things they need (that shouldn't be cut)."
Other councillors aren't as
impressed.
"If we're still talking
about four per cent (tax increase), that doesn't cut it for me,"
said Coun. Terry Alm. "I want safe streets but my constituents
are not going to write a blank cheque for the police service."
Coun. Bev Dubois is likewise
not sure if the commission cut enough to satisfy her.
"I was hoping they would
cut a little more," she said.
Coun. Tiffany Paulsen endorsed
the cuts as a member of the police commission, although she tried
to go further. Coun. Donna Birkmaier, the sixth councillor to
reject the police budget, couldn't be reached for comment.
Chief Russ Sabo warned Thursday
that the cuts will slow progress in responding to the Stonechild
report. Justice David Wright flagged a shoddy police investigation
into the 1990 freezing death in his report. Sabo maintains some
of the proposed hirings would have addressed those shortcomings.
The five Saskatoon police commissioners
approved hiring a constable dedicated to recruiting aboriginal
candidates -- meeting one of Wright's key recommendations.
Commissioners Mayor Don Atchison,
Paulsen and Donna Renneberg, who approved the cuts, are also
members of a task force charged with responding the Stonechild
report.
Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief
Glenn Johnstone, who's also a member of the task force, said
Sabo makes a valid point about the cuts.
"I'm disappointed because
. . . there's a chance for things like (the poor investigation)
to happen again. I don't think it will be really detrimental,
but it's not going to help. We'll have to find other ways to
prevent things from happening again."
But Paulsen said Sabo's concern
is "puzzling.
"I'm not sure what (Sabo)
is talking about," she said Friday. "As a member of
the task force, I was quite careful not to remove any budget
considerations related to the Stonechild inquiry. If he's saying
it will have an impact, then he didn't properly inform the board."
Michael Tochor, chair of the
Saskatchewan Police Commission, which is charged with ensuring
the Saskatoon commission and police service make changes, said
it's too early to say how significant the cuts will prove.
"I'm sure this is a concern
for the (task force) but we have to wait to see what's being
proposed. Logically, I can see how it would be a concern, but
I'm not sure how it affects the nuts and bolts."
Some of the blame falls on
the NDP government, said Saskatchewan Liberal Leader David Karwacki.
The Stonechild report will "gather dust" as long as
the Calvert NDP fails to adequately fund police forces, he said.
"The Calvert NDP had plenty
of nice words at the release of Stonechild," Karwacki said
in a news release. "Words are nice. But budget numbers speak
volumes about the province's commitment to implement Stonechild.
Civic police forces need the cash now to make those recommendations
real."
Coun. Owen Fortosky, one of
four councillors who sided with the police budget this week,
said he hopes there will be no further cuts when council takes
a second look Monday.
"People want action now,
not just years down the road. I'm not happy."
Penner said Sabo still has
"adequate" funding to work with, but added he doesn't
have enough information to know how the cuts will affect a response
to the Stonechild report.
The Saskatchewan Police Commission
expects a draft report from the Saskatoon commission in mid-May,
with a final report becoming public as early as the end of May,
Tochor said.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Police budget under
fire
Council begins scrutiny of proposed civic spending
Janet French, The StarPhoenix,
April 11, 2005
City councillors have their
sights set on cutting the police budget to help stave off the
biggest property tax increase Saskatoon could see in seven years.
Starting today, council's budget
committee will begin debating the city's $202-million preliminary
operating budget that currently proposes a property tax hike
of 4.88 per cent.
"It's too high,"
Ward 4 Coun. Myles Heidt said Sunday. "People can't afford
it, it's that simple."
The Saskatoon Police Service
has proposed a seven per cent increase to their budget to cover
increased costs due to inflation, hiring new officers and civilians
and adding police on horseback and in aircraft.
Heidt, who also sits on the
Saskatoon Police Commission, said if the police association won't
agree to new hours to beef up patrols on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday nights, he's hesitant to hand them more cash.
"It's going to be hard
for me to take on this big a budget increase and really, quite
frankly, not (see) any improvement in service," Heidt said.
If police don't agree to scheduling
changes in a new contract, council is likely to send their budget
back and ask for changes, he said.
"Why keep throwing money
into something when we know it ain't working very good?"
Heidt said.
Ward 3 Coun. Maurice Neault
said he doesn't understand why the police need such a large increase
when other civic departments are being frugal. Of the proposed
4.88 per cent hike, more than three per cent is for the police,
Neault said.
Other city departments, which
make up $158 million of the budget, account for only 1.53 per
cent of the proposed 4.88 per cent increase, he said. Neault
would like to see property tax increase by no more than 3.5 per
cent.
"Is the (police's) need
there right now today? Can they spread it over three, four, five,
six years? Those are the hard questions that I'm going to ask,"
he said. "If civic administration can come in at 1.53 (per
cent), which is well under inflation, can the police department
come in at 1.53?"
Glen Penner, councillor for
Ward 8, also has reservations about an additional $2.8 million
for police.
"I'm not prepared at this
stage to approve the police budget," he said. "There
are some things in it that I don't think should be there."
Aircraft and a horse patrol
shouldn't be a consideration when the front line needs resources,
he said.
Ward 9 Coun. Tiffany Paulsen
said as it stands, she will vote against the police budget.
Paulsen said she's worried
about the magnitude of the increase. "The citizens of Saskatoon
have not seen a comparable increase in service," she said.
"The citizens of Saskatoon, with respect to policing in
particular, are amenable to have extra resources put towards
the police when they see more officers on the street and are
being provided with more service. This hasn't happened."
Many councillors say they'll
be going through the budget with a microscope, searching for
small changes that could add up to bigger savings for taxpayers.
Ward 2 Coun. Owen Fortosky said he'd like to take a closer look
at what the city does with money they make off power and water.
"The budget process in
the past, we kind of fly over utilities and don't get too in
depth into them," he said. "My goal is to kind of see
if we can't utilize the utilities maybe a little more in bringing
down our mill rate."
Council will also consider
whether the city will continue to provide Early Bird bus service
to get workers to the far north and east parts of the city by
7 a.m., Fortosky said.
"I think that's one (subject)
that there will be a fair amount of debate on," he said.
"I think, in concept, it's a great idea, and I just don't
know if in reality it's showing the dividends that we thought
it would. I'd have to be convinced that that's something that
needs to stay." The 2005 preliminary operating budget suggests
a 7.5 per cent increase for the transit system.
Statistics gathered on the
first six weeks after the early bus service began last December
showed the city was spending more than $33,000 a month to run
the morning buses.
Heidt said he wonders if council
can make a more economical arrangement with the businesses whose
workers use the Early Bird buses.
"Can we afford a Cadillac
service for the few who are using it?" he said. "If
people don't use it, we will yank it."
The city is in a difficult
position because the latest provincial budget denied Saskatchewan
municipalities a $10-million increase they had asked for, Heidt
said. That package would have seen another $2 million flow into
Saskatoon's coffers.
Councillors estimate that cash
alone could shave two per cent off of the projected property
tax increase.
"The most unfair tax in
the world is property tax," Penner said. "When you
can share revenues and share those with municipalities, it makes
a huge difference in terms of what cities and towns can do."
The budget committee will vote
on 41 components of the budget today and possibly Tuesday if
debate runs long. Council votes to approve or reject the budget
as a whole on April 18.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Cost puts police hirings
on hold
Lack of police contract frustrates city council wish for more
weekend officers
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix,
March 18, 2005
The Saskatoon police commission
has pulled the Help Wanted sign for eight constables, delaying
their recruitment over cost concerns and an unmet political condition.
The commission and city council
approved their hiring a year ago, but the force never recruited
them because of council's demand that the officers staff a bolstered
weekend patrol.
Police administration and the
City Police Association disagree on whether that's possible without
officers agreeing to more flexibility in scheduling shifts, creating
an impasse in contract talks.
The city is hard-pressed this
year to draft its own budget without a big tax increase.
Delaying the constables' hiring
from August until next January at the earliest trims $227,000
in wages and equipment costs from the police operating budget.
It also sent a political message at the police commission meeting
Thursday.
"Not until we have a contract
signed," Atchison said of the hirings, with police association
president Const. Stan Goertzen looking on.
Atchison said he considers
the officers approved for hiring -- only the timing is in question.
"City council still hasn't
changed its instructions to us. And the instructions were, 'You
cannot hire the officers until you have them working on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday night.' "
Goertzen said in an interview
that delaying the officers' hiring again just means keeping the
status quo in police street strength.
"It isn't the police association
that's responsible for making available a reasonable number of
(officers), that's the police commission's job. They're trying
to tie it into the contract negotiations but they're two separate
things."
Pollice chief Russ Sabo said,
realistically, the police service may not have been able to hire
the eight constables by the end of this year, anyway.
The police commission also
reduced a planned increase to reserve funds by $50,000. Depending
on whether the commission reinstates the money in its next budget,
that move could put in jeopardy police projects such as an in-car
video system, an upgrade to the video system in the police station
detention area and plans for a backup computer network.
"We're going to have to
look at all our options," said acting deputy chief Bernie
Pannell.
Police were requesting a $3-million
funding increase. Two-thirds of that represent fixed costs, such
as inflation, salary increases and the impact of paying officers
hired part way through 2004 for a full year. By cutting a total
of $277,000, the police commission shaved about one-quarter of
the $1 million in discretionary new budget spending.
"This will give us a little
more breathing room," said Coun. Myles Heidt, a member of
the police commission.
The budget still faces scrutiny
by city council during its operating budget talks next month.
Council cannot change the budget, only accept it or send it back
to the police commission to alter it.
Coun. Tiffany Paulsen, who
could not attend the police commission meeting, said in an interview
Wednesday that she'll weigh in on the budget when it reaches
council.
"My displeasure with the
budget was registered earlier. The (potential) seven per cent
hike in taxes is unacceptable and the police service is no different
from any other department. They'll have to tighten their belts."
Paulsen has been particularly
critical of two pilot projects -- a mounted unit ($29,800) and
airborne unit ($41,000) that have survived the commission's cutbacks.
The police budget still includes
the hiring of six civilians (including a lawyer and media spokesperson)
and eight other police officers, such as another homicide investigator
and a constable to work on aboriginal recruitment.
With the cuts, the budget stands
at $46.5 million, including about $3.5 million in senior government
grants and general revenue. The city picks up the balance.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Police budget under
review
Mayor asks for second look as way to reduce looming tax hike
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix,
March 16, 2005
The Saskatoon police commission
will take a hard second look at the police service's $46.8-million
budget at the request of Mayor Don Atchison, who hopes to rein
in a looming property tax increase.
Commission members reopen the
budget for debate on Thursday, almost two months after they decided
to support it. That backing was lukewarm, with one of the five
commissioners, Coun. Tiffany Paulsen, refusing to recommend the
budget.
The commission needs to try
"everything possible to make sure we're as efficient as
we can (be)," Atchison said in an interview. "Not that
we aren't already, but (get) even leaner if we have to."
Atchison, who is chair of the
police commission, said he has no cutback amount in mind.
"I'm not a big supporter
of having increases in taxes. . . . I want to put my mind at
ease that we are doing everything we can."
The police budget is scheduled
to go before city council next month as part of talks on the
city's overall operating budget.
Police are requesting a $3-million
funding increase -- the biggest single challenge to council keeping
any tax increase low. But only about one-third of the funding
request is negotiable. The remaining two-thirds includes inflation,
salary increases and the impact of paying new recruits, whom
the force hired part way through 2004, for a full year.
Atchison said the commission
needs to know if the force can realistically hire eight new constables
in one year as the police service intends, when it could only
find 12 of 20 budgeted new recruits last year.
"Why would we bill it
out to taxpayers if we're not going to have them?"
The new constables are not
expected to be recruited until August, making the cost of their
hiring minimal -- $130,500 this year. The police service also
wants to hire a further eight officers to new positions and six
more civilians.
An audit of police patrol strength
suggested last fall that the force is already short at least
28 constables.
A new $150,000 top-up to police
capital reserves will also be reviewed, Atchison said.
Police Chief Russ Sabo couldn't
be reached for direct comment Tuesday. Through a police spokesperson,
Sabo said that based on recent conversations with councillors,
he expects two pilot projects -- airborne and mounted units --
to be considered for cuts.
The pilot projects would cost
$70,800 combined.
Coun. Myles Heidt, a member
of the commission, said he and council will have trouble supporting
significant new hiring considering the impasse in collective
bargaining between the force and its front-line members.
"We're going to have to
give serious thought about expanding the force if we're going
to continue to do things the way we always have," Heidt
said. "Quite frankly, we need to see some movement there."
In approving the police budget
last year, Atchison and some councillors said they expect bolstered
weekend police patrols. Sabo maintains that's best accomplished
by negotiating more flexible shifts.
City Police Association president
Stan Goertzen says Sabo could already beef up weekend policing
under terms of the expired contract.
Goertzen said he doesn't expect
the bargaining stalemate to affect the police budget.
"That's kind of a separate
issue from the budget."
Based on known cost increases
alone, city council would have to trim $6.6 million in spending
or find equivalent new revenue to freeze taxes, something Atchison
has called unrealistic. Those costs, if unchecked, represent
a seven per cent tax increase. Council informally asked administration
about a month ago to re-check its draft budget numbers for potential
decreases, Atchison said.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Strategy helps
police track crime
Compstat trial project uses statistics, public input to pinpoint
crime hot spots
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix,
March 07, 2005
Saskatoon police are adopting
a philosophical change to crime-fighting, tracking where and
when crime happens and deploying officers to these spots to prevent
it.
Compstat (short for Computer
Statistics) is a strategy of improved communication among police
units and heavy reliance on statistics and community input to
help police target crime hot spots down to the street, block
and even address.
"If we're proactive and
get to the root of the problem, hopefully we can reduce the number
of calls (for help to police)," said Sgt. Brian Shalovelo,
who is co-ordinating the Compstat project. "It's smart policing."
Compstat, a relatively new
strategy credited with dramatic crime reductions in the U.S.,
began in Saskatoon in January as a six-month trial project in
three police districts. For now, it's focusing on break and enters,
armed robberies and disturbances.
The three districts are neither
the highest-crime areas of Saskatoon, nor the safest. One northwest
district includes Confederation Park, Massey Place, Dundonald
and Westview; the second includes the neighbourhoods north of
33rd Street and east of Avenue I; and the third includes downtown
and City Park.
The police service hopes to
implement Compstat citywide as early as this summer.
The strategy is based on four
principles:
q Getting timely, accurate
information to officers. With Compstat, meetings among police
management to share information and plot new crime-reduction
strategies happen systematically and often. Previously, officers
on patrol either checked only trouble spots they were personally
aware of or drove around their districts randomly.
"Random practices produce
random results," said acting deputy chief Bernie Pannell.
"What we're trying to do is change our philosophy of policing.
Instead of reacting to calls, let's deal proactively."
Before going on patrol, constables
also review the most recent "hot spots" posted on a
bulletin board in their briefing room and scan photos of Saskatoon's
most wanted.
Crime stats and community input
will be the keys to sharing information, Pannell said.
q Developing effective strategies
to counter crime trends. Typically, police units, such as drug
and major crime squads, for example, haven't shared information
and resources.
q Rapid deployment of resources.
This step is nicknamed "cops on dots" for the district
maps dabbed with red spots that show police where crime is happening.
Redeploying officers doesn't mean that quieter neighbourhoods
will see fewer cruisers, Pannell stresses. But the force is bringing
extra staff from other units into areas to work in plain clothes
or on patrol to put an end to emerging crime trends.
q Relentless follow-up. Every
two weeks, supervisors will have to answer for how they deployed
their officers in light of the crime statistics available.
"The theme is, 'What have
you done, what are you doing to reduce crime?' " Shalovelo
said. "If we're not reducing crime, we're not achieving
our mandate."
In response to complaints from
Caswell Hill residents, police carried out a six-week operation
late last year targeting rowdy bar patrons, handing out a slew
of public urination charges. That operation now serves as a template
for how to run Compstat.
In another Compstat example,
officers noticed a string of thefts at a convenience store and
are working with the owner on a new product layout and security
measures.
Compstat is a close cousin
of the "broken-window theory" policing model Mayor
Don Atchison promised during the 2003 election campaign to implement,
but Shalovelo said the strategy isn't politically driven. Neither
does it run counter to community policing, since it relies on
public input, Pannell said.
Atchison, who chairs the Saskatoon
police commission, said Compstat fits with the policing philosophy
he promised, along with formation of a street crime unit last
year.
"Officers are exceedingly
excited about that," he said. "It's putting the red
dots where all the problems are. Hopefully, (Compstat) will make
a significant difference."
Initially, Compstat's impact
may be hard to measure. With more effective enforcement, it's
likely numbers of charges will rise in the short term, Shalovelo
said.
Compstat dates back to a 1994
initiative by former New York City police chief William Bratton.
Within the next six years, the city saw serious crime, such as
murder and other violent crime, drop by half, Shalovelo said.
Bratton has since implemented Compstat in Los Angeles, where
serious crime is down 39 per cent in two years, Shalovelo said.
About 500 American police forces
are now using some version of Compstat, with four others in Canada,
including Edmonton and Peel Regional, experimenting with it,
Shalovelo said.
The Saskatoon police commission
will hear a presentation on Compstat for the first time March
17.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Test weeds
out many worthy police candidates
Gens Hellquist and Helen
Smith-McIntyre, Special to The StarPhoenix, March 17, 2005
The following viewpoint was
submitted by the writers on behalf of the Saskatoon Police Advisory
Committee on Diversity.
The editorial, Aptitude test
valid to test police recruits (SP, Jan. 29) got it wrong when
it suggested that our committee wants to water down the qualifications
for minority candidates trying to become police officers in Saskatoon.
The committee is concerned that the Saskatoon Police Service
is composed of the best candidates for the job and becomes a
service that better represents the many diverse cultures that
make up Saskatoon.
The SP claims that the SIGMA
test assesses the communication skills of candidates. Nowhere
in that test are there tools that can ascertain such skills.
However, SIGMA tests cognitive abilities, although we still are
confused why the Saskatchewan Police Commission mandates a test
that has a section based on the American Criminal Code.
We would hope that candidates
who may become police officers in our community are being tested
with tools that reflect the diverse cultures that make up Canada
and Saskatoon.
Our concerns revolve around
the significant portions of the test which are based on spelling,
grammar and the placement of commas. At a time when police reports
are computerized, we hate to think we lose good candidates because
they don't know the correct placement of commas.
Nearly 50 per cent of those
who take the test fail. Among them are many who have grown up
and been educated in Canada, although the spelling and grammar
parts are probably less accessible to many from other cultures
whose first language isn't English.
We wonder if Michael Tochor,
chair of the police commission, has taken the test. He also claims
that the test is an important means of determining candidates'
communication skills. Communications skills are both written
and oral. For a police officer the latter are extremely important.
We're not sure how anyone could ascertain complete communication
skills from a test that doesn't include mechanisms to test for
those skills.
The SIGMA test is only the
first step of many that candidates must pass before becoming
a police officer in Saskatoon. There are many real and valid
opportunities to test communication skills in the long process
to becoming a police officer, including a number of personal
interviews and 18 weeks of training at the Saskatchewan Police
College.
Tochor says he hasn't heard
any complaints about the test but we have. Frustrated Saskatoon
police officers who work on recruitment have complained to us
about candidates they have mentored and believe would make excellent
police officers failing the first step in the process because
their first language isn't English.
Many of those candidates have
more than one university degree earned in another culture. Their
oral communication skills aren't the problem, as many can effectively
communicate in English and other languages -- a valuable asset
to a police force that serves a growing diverse community. The
problem is that they don't understand differences between written
American and Canadian English or the complexities of English
grammar.
We also hear about candidates
who have grown up in Saskatchewan who fail the test and then
apply to the police forces in Winnipeg, Edmonton or other prairie
cities and pass their test on cognitive abilities. While they
very much want to be police officers in the city or province
where they grew up, they are thwarted because of an inappropriate
test.
We agree with The SP and Tochor
that police officers in Saskatoon must be able to effectively
communicate with the various cultures that make up our community.
The SIGMA test does not test for that and prevents many excellent
candidates from serving all the citizens of Saskatoon.
The Saskatoon Police Service
is working hard to change its culture and become more knowledgeable
of the various cultures in the community. By the end of March,
all officers and civilian employees will have participated in
three-day workshops that expose them to various cultures represented
in the city.
That work is hindered when
an unfair test is used that prevents many excellent candidates
of Canadian background or other cultures from becoming a part
of the force and enabling it to better reflect the diversity
of Saskatoon. Nine of the past 12 candidates who took the test
failed. Something is wrong with that.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Dueck behind
Sabo complaint
Allegations against police chief 'frivolous': police board member
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix,
March 3, 2005
Former police superintendent
Brian Dueck filed the latest complaint against Chief Russ Sabo,
several sources confirm. Dueck quit the force Dec. 20, weeks
before he filed the complaint, sources close to the police service
said on condition of anonymity.
Dueck spent 11 months on paid
medical leave after a Queen's Bench justice found that he helped
maliciously prosecute Richard Klassen and members of the extended
Klassen family in the early 1990s. His retirement came the same
day he was to meet with the chief to discuss his future.
Police commissioners have known
for two months of Dueck's complaint, but none wanted to talk
directly about it Wednesday, leaving its nature mysterious for
now. Saskatoon police commission chair Mayor Don Atchison has
said it doesn't involve criminal or sexual misconduct allegations.
Coun. Tiffany Paulsen, one
of five commissioners, said she's frustrated there's little she
can do to dissipate the cloud hovering over Sabo while waiting
for the complaint to be investigated.
"I would prefer to release
all the details of the complaint quite frankly, so the public
knows how frivolous it is," she said.
Paulsen confirmed that the
police commission has taken no disciplinary action against Sabo.
"It was never even a possibility,
given the frivolous nature."
Atchison would neither confirm
nor deny that Dueck filed the complaint.
"We as a board of police
commissioners are to keep confidentiality and privacy (about
complaints)," Atchison said.
Efforts to reach Dueck Wednesday
were unsuccessful.
Sabo spoke about the complaint
after wrapping up testimony Wednesday at deputy chief Dan Wiks
disciplinary hearing.
"I believe there was nothing
there (to warrant a complaint) but then the complainant does
and only an independent investigation will determine if there
was," he said.
"Whether you think you've
done nothing wrong or not, it's still a concern because there's
a complaint there. I'm hoping (the investigation) will be done
in a timely manner," he said.
The Saskatoon Police Service
was the subject of 68 public complaints last year.
"This is not new to us,"
Sabo said. "We are in the public eye, we're held to a very
high standard and it's just part of doing business. The vast
majority of complaints we receive are not substantiated."
Wiks' lawyer unearthed the
complaint Tuesday while questioning another senior police officer.
The complaint is before the
provincial police complaints investigator's office.
In 2003, Sabo's then-secretary
and other staff levelled harassment complaints against the chief.
Of 42 incidents investigated,
five were deemed by an independent investigator to constitute
harassment. Sabo was allowed to return to the job after a paid
leave.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Constable faces assault
charge
Three-year member of Saskatoon Police Service to appear in
court March 1
Julie Saccone, The StarPhoenix,
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
A Saskatoon police officer
is facing an assault charge after an altercation with a prisoner
in the police service detention area last year.
Const. Robert Brown, a three-year
member of the service, was charged with assault after an investigation
and review by the police service and a recommendation by Saskatchewan's
Department of Justice to lay the charge. The charge stems from
an incident last December involving a prisoner in the detention
area.
Police remained mum on the
details Tuesday, saying they didn't want to jeopardize the court
proceedings.
A process is in place to deal
with a situation like this, Const. Stan Goertzen, president of
the Saskatoon City Police Association, stressed.
"Robert is entitled to
fair access to that process," he said.
But Goertzen continued his
call for improved conditions in detention-area cells, specifically
for Plexiglas on the inside of the cells.
Officers have had feces and
cups of urine thrown at them, and have had prisoners spit in
their face, he said.
"This case is just one
of many where a police officer has had something done to them,"
he said.
"We are going to see if
the city is going to address this," he said.
The case is the second in two
years involving a Saskatoon police officer and a prisoner.
A police officer who punched
a man in custody at the downtown headquarters in 2003 was cleared
of criminal charges in December.
The case surrounded Const.
Andrew Johnstone's treatment of Neil Terrance Bear in April 2003.
Johnstone and a fellow constable
arrested Bear, 21 at the time, on an outstanding warrant.
As they escorted him to the
elevator in the police station detention bay, Bear turned to
spit in Johnstone's direction, just missing his sleeve.
At a court hearing in the summer
of 2003, Johnstone testified he believed the spitting to be a
threat to his well-being and when he saw Bear preparing to spit
again, Johnstone punched him twice in the face and shoved him
into a corner of the elevator.
Police Chief Russ Sabo moved
Brown from his active street duties Monday to an administrative
position.
He is scheduled to appear in
provincial court March 1.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Police
beef up street crime unit
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix, January 07, 2005
Four new constables have bolstered
the Saskatoon Police Service's front line against street crime.
Effective New Year's Day, the
street-crime unit almost doubled in size to eight constables
and one sergeant.
The unit is widely credited
with helping turn around the city's crime rate in 2004 despite
hitting the streets three months into the year.
It could make a greater impact
in 2005.
"We're going to notice
more of a difference when it comes to our crime rate," said
Sgt. Randy Huisman, who heads up the unit. "No. 1 priorities
with me right now are gangs, street robberies and vicious assaults."
The hirings free up the unit
to crack down, for example, on a string of gang-related robberies
against kids in one particular Confederation Park location.
More officers mean the unit
can accompany witnesses to court and take other steps to protect
victims from intimidation, Huisman said.
Armed robberies decreased by
more than one-third in 2004, while there were one-quarter fewer
other robberies than in 2003. Reports of sexual assaults and
stalking also dipped significantly.
The number of homicides --
nine -- increased in 2004 over the previous year.
The street-crime unit tends
to produce attention-grabbing statistics when it conducts major
operations.
In July and August, the unit
conducted street checks of 254 people, laid 110 criminal charges,
checked 81 known or suspected gang members, executed 76 arrest
warrants, seized two vehicles in an undercover operation targeting
johns and seized five sawed-off shotguns.
Mayor Don Atchison, who chairs
the Saskatoon police commission, expects adding officers to the
street-crime unit's ranks will have an almost immediate impact.
"They don't just go out
and patrol the streets, they check on curfews, court conditions
on gang members and those out on probation. I attribute quite
a bit of that (crime decrease) to them. They're doing a good
job.
"To add help will be that
much more beneficial."
Four new constables were hired
last year, but didn't finish police college until late last month.
The rookies will begin their careers on patrol, freeing up four
veteran officers to join the street crime unit.
When the street crime unit
carried out major operations last year, it used officers from
vice and organized crime units.
Huisman began organizing the
unit on April 1 and got his first four constables on June 1.
The beefed-up unit also plans
to get involved in the battle against gangs. Huisman hopes to
form a stakeholders group involving the Federation of Saskatchewan
Indian Nations, Saskatoon Tribal Council and Metis groups to
work on strategies to keep at-risk kids from getting into trouble
and help others get out of gangs.
"Most of these young people
never intend to be in gangs," said Saskatoon Tribal Council
Chief Glenn Johnstone. "A preventative program is really
needed and I like the idea of having all the groups together."
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Police budget may face
heat from council over pilot projects
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix.
January 21, 2005
The Saskatoon police commission
has backed Chief Russ Sabo's $46.8-million budget, including
trial runs of an airborne patrol and mounted unit.
But those pilot projects may
hit turbulence when the budget goes before city council for final
approval next month.
Coun. Tiffany Paulsen, one
of three council members on the commission, refused to recommend
the budget Thursday because of the two pilot projects, which
are among its smallest new expenditures.
"My problem with these
projects is the timing of them," she said, suggesting that
their introduction has weakened public confidence in the force.
"We've come off a series of inquiries and incidents, officers
of all ranks are on administrative leave, some dismissed. I get
a lot of concerns from the public who say, 'Horses and airplanes?
That's your solution?' The timing of this showed an insensitivity
to the public's needs at this time."
Other councillors have publicly
questioned the wisdom of branching into planes and horses. Unlike
the police commission, which has the authority to tinker with
the budget but didn't, council can only endorse the budget or
reject it outright.
But Coun. Myles Heidt praised
Sabo and the officer who came up with the idea, Const. Gary David,
for trying something different.
"We keep throwing money
at the same old thing," he said.
"I'd like to give them
the benefit of the doubt. You want to get morale better? This
is one step."
The police commission received
a late letter Thursday from retired officer Larry
Lockwood, a licensed pilot, who doubts the airborne unit
will succeed.
Lockwood said he experimented
with police radios during flights in the 1990s and found they
don't work well in aircraft. A four-seat airplane wouldn't be
able to easily land, as a helicopter can, would have limited
visibility from the altitude it's permitted to fly and would
have to navigate flocks of migrating birds in season, he said.
"It's just outright dangerous."
David said he's looked into
all of those concerns. The airborne unit, called EAGLE (Enhanced
Air Guided Law Enforcement) would take two officers off the street,
but use them more effectively, he told the commission.
Paulsen disagreed.
"When we're in a time
of policing crisis right now, I think it's important to have
those officers on the street," she said.
EAGLE would fly sporadically
June through August from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m., keeping an eye specifically
on industrial areas prone to break-ins. It would cost $41,000
to lease a plane as well as fuel and insure it.
The $29,800 mounted unit would
put officers on horseback from May through August at festivals,
in parks and along riverbank trails.
The budget adds 16 new officers
and six civilian positions. Eight of the constables had been
approved for hiring last year, but Sabo said he held off because
of a lack of progress negotiating scheduling flexibility with
the Saskatoon City Police Association.
City council had warned Sabo
it might roll back funding for those eight officers without the
scheduling flexibility to beef up night weekend patrols.
The other eight new officers
range from constables to staff sergeants in units such as canine,
forensic identification and homicide. Civilian jobs include a
communications specialist and the force's first in-house lawyer.
The budget doesn't take hiring
far enough, said Const. Stan Goertzen, president of the police
association.
"We still need more officers
out on the street. The Prosser (audit) report indicated very
clearly that they needed at least 28 new officers on the street.
There's some stuff that I wonder why it wasn't asked for."
The impact of the total budget,
which is offset by about $3.5 million in police revenue, such
as senior government grants, will be $5.40 for the average household,
Sabo said.
Two-thirds of the $3-million
budget increase over last year is built in through salary increases,
inflation and the impact of paying new recruits from 2004 for
a full year.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
|
Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
