Intoxication Arrests Up

From Sasknow.ca, May 24, 2017

Intoxication arrests were up in Saskatoon in 2016 compared to the year before and compared to a downward trend from 2012.

That is from the Action Accord Statistical Review presented to the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners on Wednesday.

The goal has been to keep intoxicated people out of jail cells and that's where The Lighthouse Stabilization Centre and the Brief Detoxification Unit come in.

The Community Support Program which deals with issues right on the streets has also reduced the frequency of arrests for intoxication.

The Stabilization Centre led to fewer non-criminals in jail cells but then 2 mitigating factors led to less use.

First, a number of people who had used the services before could no longer do so because of prior behaviours and second, there were funding issues which meant a reduction of hours the Centre is available.

The Brief Detoxification Unit is challenged with too much demand for its services, so that means having to go back to putting people in jail for public intoxication.

http://www.sasknow.ca/local-news/more-intoxicated-people-ending-up-in-jail-cells