Saskatoon residents bring documents, electronics for safe, anti-fraud disposal

Saskatoon police work to remove hard drives from laptops on March 16, 2023. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

Have you ever wondered what hard drives being destroyed sounds like?

Saskatoon police officers armed with screwdrivers and people stopping by to drop off their old electronics and dispose of documents found out Thursday at Saskatoon Police Service headquarters.

The gymnasium hosted the Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) and its compact industrial shredder during SPS’s data disposal event, encouraging people to drop off sensitive documents and electronics for safe disposal to prevent fraud.

Ever wondered what it looks when a hard drive is destroyed? #Saskatoon police are hearing these sounds today while they host a data disposal day for people to bring by their old electronics and documents for safe disposal @CKOMNews pic.twitter.com/Z8bM9IzD5H

— Libby Giesbrecht (@GiesbrechtLibby) March 16, 2023

Matthew Bradford, a staff sergeant of the Economic Crime Section, said the event is in honour of March being fraud awareness month.

Saskatoon police officers take old laptops and other electronics apart to remove hard drives for safe disposal on March 16, 2023. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

“Data security is key in fraud prevention,” Bradford said. “I see lots of files every week where people’s identity gets compromised or used to commit fraud.”

The officer said keeping sensitive information secure, even after parting ways with a laptop or computer tower, goes a long way towards protecting the public.

Electronics dropped off were quickly tackled by officers in the Economic Crime Section who deal with fraud. They worked to remove hard drives to be crushed by ERA staff onsite.

Meanwhile, people with documents used bins provided by Scrap-it to securely dispose of their paperwork.

The remainder of the electronic devices will be recycled or repurposed through donation or used for parts, according to ERA staff.

Tim Dodman with the ERA empties the destroyed remains of dozens of hard drives at Saskatoon police headquarters during a safe data disposal event on March 16, 2023. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

Bradford offered assurance that police won’t be going through any of the data on the devices dropped off.

He said the Saskatoon police’s whole fraud team was on site for the event, joking that the day also served as a chance for members of the public to meet their “friendly neighbourhood fraud detective.”