Saskatoon police sees drop in dispatched calls in March, domestic violence calls up

Saskatoon police say calls for service were down during March due to several factors, including a change in people’s lifestyles.

The COVID-19 global pandemic shut down the Saskatoon police headquarters on March 18, moving to telephone and online reporting to reduce calls officers physically attend to.

In March, there were 9,138 total calls, down slightly compared to 2019, where 9,152 total calls were reported.

The number that did drop drastically were the calls dispatched out by officers.

In 2019 during the month of March, Saskatoon police were dispatched to 6,657 calls. In 2020, 508 fewer dispatched calls were reported, sitting at 6,149 for the calendar month.

“This is due to a combination of several factors, self-isolation being the biggest one – people’s lifestyles have been dramatically changed,” Julie Clark, public affairs consultant for Saskatoon Police said in an email.

Clark outlined that numbers involving break and enters stayed about the same, noting that those crimes “typically” are the result of addictions.

Domestic violence numbers were up slightly in Saskatoon. In 2019, 359 calls were reported for March compared to 484 in 2020.

Calls for mental health were down slightly, according to Clark.