Police yet to issue any tickets after receiving more than 300 COVID-19-related complaints

Saskatoon police are continuing to take the path of education when it comes to COVID-19 complaints after receiving 317 calls about non-compliance for public health orders without issuing a single ticket.

Chief Troy Cooper said all police forces in the province are taking the same approach when it comes to acting on COVID-19 complaints, and gathering in groups anywhere near 10 people will garner some extra attention.

“We just ask people right now to be mindful of those orders and the sensitivity that people still feel around gatherings and compliance,” Cooper said. “And realize even if you have slightly less than 10 people, if you’re gathered in a group and not socially isolating, you’re likely to attract the attention of a public health complaint and a police response.”

As the weather warms up Cooper said his officers have been noticing more activity and gatherings at parks, but they have yet to notice anything egregious or flagrant that would need more than a reminder.

“So far in Saskatoon, our attendance and our request for compliance has been sufficient,” he said. “The purpose for the legislation is to gain compliance and not just simply to provide us an opportunity to use it as an education tool, so we do our best to gain compliance voluntarily.”

Decrease in calls

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a small amount of relief, decreasing calls for service by roughly 13 per cent over the last nine weeks.

Statistics for crimes against persons — assault, murder and domestic violence — have remained steady, but a week-to-week drop in property crime — breaking and entering, theft and vandalism — have seen a sharp decline.

“In the last couple of weeks we’ve seen a real decrease in all property crimes — thefts, break and enters and frauds, so that was really nice to see that sort of trend in the downward direction,” Cooper said.

Reported sexual violence violations have also decreased in the last two months, which Cooper mostly attributed to a lack of reporting due to COVID-19 restrictions keeping more people at home.

Domestic violence calls increase

Finding trends in a short period of time can be tricky for police, but Cooper did note that Saskatoon, like much of the world, is seeing an increase in domestic violence calls.

Cooper said it amounts to a seven per cent increase compared to this time last year.

“Some cities experienced it earlier than we did,” he said. “What we know is that there are some common themes that we saw throughout the pandemic across the globe and one of them is the concern of domestic violence and the increase of domestic violence.

“It’s certainly an experience that’s worth monitoring here to see if additional supports are required in our community.”