Playing with statistics

Taking a page from Chicago? (Crime capital of U.S.) Sabo (Saskatoon's new chief)

The cops fail to mention that they have more superintendents than most Canadian city forces (Eleven counted last year compared with four in Toronto). Each super gets a salary in the $90-100,000 range. Dueck is the highest paid superintendent.

The PR fed to a willing reporter also fails to seriously look at Saskatoon's west side where crime has risen. Many neighbourhoods which were previously safe are now dangerous. Drugs are rampant. Break and enters of private homes are rampant. Crazy attacks as you are walking down the street are rampant.

The Saskatoon Police Service has a totally corrupt super at the top. We know that he is an expert in deciding which evidence to give o crown prosecutors and which to "hold back." It is far easier to do this with statistics.

We also know that there is no record of Darrell Night being picked up. This is one stat which wasn't entered anywhere in the system. How many more are there? Who is really in charge?

City cops do more with less Saskatoon's funding measured against other Canadian cities  

Shannon Boklaschuk, Saskatoon StarPhoenix,, February 12, 2002

The Saskatoon Police Service deals with more crime, but has less per capita funding than many of its Canadian counterparts, according to a benchmark survey that will be presented to the board of police commissioners on Thursday.

The report, prepared by KPMG Consulting, compares the Saskatoon Police Service with eight other police services across the country: Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, Peel, Saint John, Vancouver, Windsor and Winnipeg.

According to the report, in 2000 Saskatoon shared the highest total crime rate per 100,000 people with Vancouver, at 13,766 incidents.

"This is significantly above the average for all police service areas at 9,643 incidences," the report states.

"Total" crime is derived from the combination of violent, property and other crime. The total crime rate in Halifax that year was 11,966 per 100,000 population, followed by Winnipeg at 10,902.

But while city police deal with a high crime rate, the report also indicates that Saskatoon still spent less per capita on police services than the average for the other cities.

Saskatoon spent $154 per capita compared to $188 for the other services. However, the report points out that Saskatoon still spent a "high proportion of their city budget on police services" in 2000.

"Saskatoon had the second-highest proportion of the city budget dedicated to police services," it states.

"The total police budget represented 21 per cent of Saskatoon's total city budget. This was much higher than the 14 per cent average for all police services."

In 2000, the City of Saskatoon had a budget of more than $150 million. Of the total city budget, police services received more than $31 million, according to the report.

Saskatoon Police Chief Russell Sabo said in an interview on Monday the police service is "currently under-resourced" and the possibility of hiring more officers will be examined.

"That's one of the things we're going to be looking at with the board of commissioners and the members of council," he said. "As a group, we're going to have to come to terms with what the community needs and the organization needs to help us move forward."

But Sabo said it's only by addressing the underlying social factors that cause crime -- such as poverty, unemployment and a lack of education -- that crime can be reduced.

"You can have all the police officers in the world, you can have a police officer on every corner. That is not going to make crime go away.

"What we have to do is we have to look at solving the problems."

As well, the average speed of answer for 911 calls in the Saskatoon Police Service communication centre is 5.3 seconds, compared to the average for all services of 3.8 seconds.

Another finding in the report is the Saskatoon Police Service had a "lower than average level of satisfaction among the public" in 2000.

About 60 per cent of the public in Saskatoon reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their police service, compared to the average for all services of 77 per cent, according to the report.

Sabo said it may be due to "what people see in the media.

"We have a very good department with excellent people. There's some historical things we're dealing with and I recognize they have to be reported on, but we also have to recognize the goods things that are happening in the city as well."

A bitter division between the police and many Natives was exposed two years ago, after two city officers abandoned Darrell Night, a First Nations man, on the outskirts of the city late on a cold winter night.

The revelation, followed by the discovery of the frozen bodies of two other Native men, Lawrence Wegner and Rodney Naistus, set off a firestorm of controversy.

"What we've got to do is overcome some of the things that have happened in the past," Heidt said. "There's no doubt some of the tragedies that have happened in our city here have had an impact on that study. I'm not going to put my head in the sand and say everything is all rosy in this city, because it's not.

"But I think we're (moving) in the right direction."

© Copyright 2002 Saskatoon StarPhoenix