Board-hosted virtual conversations to focus on strengthening a culture of community safety in Saskatoon

The Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners is seeking input from the community on how we can all work together, along with the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS), to strengthen the culture of community safety in Saskatoon.

While the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) is responsible for police operations, the Board is mandated by The Saskatchewan Police Act, 1990, to contribute to the general direction, policy and priorities of the SPS, and to aid in long-term planning for the SPS.

“To achieve this mandate, we need to ensure our general oversight and direction is reflective of the unique needs of our community, and so we’re reaching out to the community to hear directly from them,” says Jo Custead, Chair of the Board of Police Commissioners. “We believe a culture of community safety is best achieved when we work together as community, with our police service.”

Due to COVID-19 and the inability to hold a larger in-person community consultation, over the next eight weeks, the Board will host a series of virtual conversations with groups that are representative of our community. Indigenous groups, business groups, diversity groups, front-line service organizations, newcomer groups, service clubs and others will receive invitations to attend an online conversation about community safety hosted by a member of the Police Commission and a member of the SPS. The general public will also be able to participate via a survey that will be posted on the Board’s website. The information received through these consultations will be used by the Board in its strategic planning session taking place later this year, and will be shared with the SPS for use in its annual business planning.

Some examples of local programs and initiatives that Saskatoon groups and citizens have spearheaded in the past include:

  • The SPS Community Mobilization Unit, an eight-member foot patrol designed to provide a more personal policing response and build relationships in marginalized areas of the community;

  • PACT, a partnership between SPS and the Saskatoon Crisis Intervention Network created to help ensure the right support is provided to people when they need it;

  • The Restorative Action Program which uses restorative justice to address conflict in high schools;

  • The SPS partnership with the Sawêyihtotân Pilot Project and the Okihtcitawak Patrol Group (OPG);

  • The Saskatoon Hotel Association offering to help identify women who might be victims of trafficking; and

  • Operation Runaway, a partnership between Egadz, the SPS, and Prairie Mobile Communications which was recently recognized as Canada’s best response to youth runaways.

“These programs prove there are many ways we can collaborate to strengthen our culture of community safety,” says Custead. “They came about through conversations, and partnerships, and a mutual desire to live in a community where people feel safe, protected and secure; this being our mission, it’s so important that we provide people with an opportunity to contribute their feedback and ideas.”

The Board is asking the following questions of the community:

  • #1: What is the biggest challenge facing your community/neighbourhood when it comes to public safety?

  • #2: What are the top policing values you would like to see created and/or strengthened in our

    community?

  • #3: How can your organization contribute to strengthening a culture of community safety in Saskatoon?

“These questions are always top of mind for our Board, and as we plan for the future, the feedback and ideas we receive will be helpful in identifying potential new actions we can take as a community, as a Board and as a police service to work together to enhance our safety culture,” says Custead.

The virtual conversations will take place on various dates from June 10th to August 5th. The online survey will also be open during this time, and will be posted on our website.

A full report on what the Board learns through the consultations will be shared with all session participants, posted on the Board’s website, and provided to the SPS to aid them in their annual business planning.

NewsTrevor Percy