Regina, Saskatoon police prepared for usual New Year’s Eve

A quiet New Year’s Eve at home doesn’t mean much to police in Regina and Saskatoon.

Both police services are planning for the usual shenanigans that tend to accompany the day, even with provincial COVID-19 restrictions limiting gatherings to immediate households.

“We’re anticipating New Year’s Eve to be eventful in some ways, and uneventful in others, given the times that we are in,” Insp. Audra Young of the Regina Police Service said Thursday.

Even with bars and event spaces remaining largely empty to ring in the new year, a full complement of officers will be on staff in Saskatchewan’s two largest cities with the focus remaining on impaired driving enforcement.

“This time of year is always a concern about impaired driving,” said Alyson Edwards, the director of public affairs for Saskatoon police.

“That’s really where a lot of our focus is during the holidays, especially on New Year’s Eve.”

Edwards said a sobriety checkpoint will be operating Thursday with some assistance from the RCMP, Corman Park Police, the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol, CP Rail and MADD Canada to ensure impaired drivers get the message to stay home and avoid getting behind the wheel.

There will also be plenty of attention on gatherings from officers hoping no one is planning to invite over a group of friends for a typical New Year’s Eve party.

“It’s hard to say if we’re going to get a number of calls this evening,” Edwards said. “I know that people are getting COVID fatigue, but we ask people to maintain their adherence to the public health order.”

As with most holidays celebrated with a glass or two of an alcoholic beverage, police have to be ready for everything, even if they are hoping for a calm night free of violence or impaired driving.

“You hope for the best, but often, you find that sometimes folks feel like they can do these things, and then we have to be ready and available to respond to those events,” Young said.