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Sask. has highest per-capita
ratio of police officers
Atchison maintains Saskatoon needs more cops on the street
Saskatchewan News Network;
With files The StarPhoenix; Regina Leader-Post, December 20,
2003
While Saskatchewan has the
highest crime rate of any province, there should be a police
officer around when you need one.
Saskatchewan, with an average
of 201 officers per 100,000 people, had the highest ratio of
police to citizens in the country, according to 2002 figures
released by Statistics Canada on Friday.
The Saskatoon census metropolitan
area (CMA) ranks fifth among 25 major Canadian urban areas, with
178 officers per 100,000 people. Officers include city police
as well as RCMP detachments in the surrounding area.
The Saskatoon Police Service,
however, has 168 officers per 100,000 people, according to the
data provided by Statistics Canada.
"I still maintain we have
to get more officers on the street," Mayor Don Atchison
said in an interview Friday.
Atchison said that can be addressed
in two ways: by "looking at what we have already" and
by increasing the number of officers in the city.
"I'm still hopeful that
the province of Saskatchewan will come along and help us in that
area, as well," he said.
A Saskatoon police spokesperson
has said the force is particularly short-staffed among its front-line
officers on patrol who respond to calls.
The Statistics Canada report
indicated the Saskatoon police service has fewer officers per
100,000 population than other police services in Toronto, Montreal,
Vancouver, Halifax, Windsor, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Regina.
However, with the exception
of Regina, Saskatoon also has a higher rate of crime than any
of those cities.
Regina's census metropolitan
area (CMA) fared well, with the Queen City's CMA having the most
police officers per 100,000 people -- 202 -- of any metropolitan
area in Canada. Regina's police service has 182 officers per
100,000 population.
But Regina police Chief Cal
Johnston said that while there is a high ratio of officers in
the Regina area, the actual number of city officers per 100,000
people was only 174 last year and 182 in 2003.
That's just below the national
average of 188. And while the city's crime rates declined by
12 per cent in 2002, Regina's officers have no shortage of work,
he said.
"When you look at the
calls per officer, Criminal Code complaints per officer . . .
Regina traditionally has one of the highest if not the highest
in Canada," he said.
On Friday, no political leaders
were saying there were too many officers in the province.
The provincial NDP had pledged
in the 1999 election to hire 200 new police officers in four
years. The government has paid for 142 officers since that time.
Justice Minister Frank Quennell
said there may be no increase in this year's provincial budget
because of financial constraints. But the government is still
committed to reaching the 200 target despite the high number
of officers in the province, he said Friday.
"Adding more police officers
isn't a silver bullet, it doesn't solve all our problems. A lot
of our problems are related to addictions, they're related to
unstable communities, which relates to housing and education
and they have to be addressed in other ways. But I think there's
a place for the police officer on the street who's doing more
than just responding to a complaint or investigating a crime,"
he said.
Saskatchewan Party MLA Dan
D'Autremont said its clear that more officers are needed in the
province.
"The fact the province
of Saskatchewan has the need is what is shown by those statistics.
We lead the country in the number of violent cases, homicides,
personal crimes . . . we're going to have to have more police
officers."
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
City eyes Sutherland
police post
Atchison opposes such stations, but says police board should
decide
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix,
December 10, 2003
Mayor Don Atchison has backed
the construction of a second community policing station, along
with a majority of city council, despite his campaign promise
to shut down the only existing community station in Riversdale
and overhaul police strategy.
But Atchison said in an interview
his policing views haven't changed -- he only wants to give the
newly appointed board of police commissioners a fair chance to
debate converting the former Sutherland fire hall on Central
Avenue into a community station. Council approved the new station
at its 2004 capital budget meeting Tuesday.
Atchison, the police commission
chair, suggested the approval can be overturned when the new
board of police commissioners begins sitting in January.
"Giving them an opportunity
to discuss this does not mean I'm in favour of it. I don't believe
in (community stations)," he said in an interview, adding
Saskatoon is too small to need satellite stations.
"But it's not up to me
to speak for the new police commission. They need an opportunity
to discuss this first of all. . . . I am not in favour of that
(station) at all. The four officers' (salaries at the station),
that's $196,000 better spent out on the streets.
"This is not a dictatorship,
this is a democracy. If we were running a dictatorship, you would
say this is what we're doing."
Atchison urged council to support
budgeting $92,000 to renovate the hall into a police station,
despite concerns expressed by some councillors. It will take
another $89,200 to hire four constables to staff one new position
at the station.
"I have difficulty with
this," said Coun. Donna Birkmaier, who questioned the cost
of renovations. "My concern is we don't know this is going
to work. Why wouldn't we do something on a more temporary basis
and test the market?"
By contrast, three of the five
new commissioners have said they support the community policing
initiatives currently under way, possibly leaving Atchison with
a fight on his hands over the Sutherland station.
The Little Chief station became
an election campaign symbol for Atchison's planned police reforms.
Atchison regularly repeated promises during and after the election
campaign to redeploy the two officers working inside Little Chief
and get more officers on the street -- calling the community
policing philosophy supported by former mayor Jim Maddin ineffective.
The Little Chief station, he said, receives on average 1.6 visits
per day.
But police Chief Russell Sabo
offered numbers to the contrary, saying there were 280 complaints
filed in November alone.
Atchison said he stands by
his numbers, which he said accurately reflected visits in the
fall, and questioned whether Sabo's statistics include phone
calls.
The Sutherland police station
would likely attract more visits than Little Chief, Sabo told
council, because transportation is more readily available to
east-side residents. He said police have poorly marketed the
Little Chief station, with some residents not aware they can
report crimes there.
The Sutherland station would
be open 10 hours a day, seven days a week, staffed by one officer.
Giving residents a place to
report minor offences frees up policing "street strength,"
Sabo said. Police don't have an option of placing civilian staff
in the stations because of contractual issues with the city police
association.
Those officers who would staff
the Sutherland station cannot leave the station to respond to
an emergency in the neighbourhood, Sabo said, because locking
the station even temporarily would run contrary to its purpose.
"This is an additional
place police can gain access to the public," Sabo said.
The station is just one project
in an approximately $100-million capital budget -- a record high
for Saskatoon.
New neighbourhoods Hampton
Village on the west side and Willowgrove on the east combine
for about $11 million in land development costs alone. The city
is beginning a 10-year, $150-million upgrade of its water treatment
plant.
Upgrading of Preston Avenue
from 14th Street to the CPR crossing will go ahead, including
additional lanes on some stretches. Council is expected to decide
on proceeding with Phase 2 of the Preston Crossing shopping mall
next month.
Council will consider final
approval for the capital budget at its Monday meeting. The operational
budget, which determines the property tax rate for 2004, is debated
in March or April.
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
S'toon mayor proposes
closing inner-city police station
Sask. CBC, Nov 14 2003
SASKATOON -Saskatoon's new
mayor told business leaders Thursday his top priority right now
is to cut down the city's crime rate.
As part of that, Atchison told about 300 people from the North
Saskatoon Business Association he will close down the Little
Chief community police station on 20th Street because it wastes
officers' time.
It will be more than a year
before the city can hire more police officers. In the meantime,
inner city residents would be better served if those police officers
were out walking a beat, he said.
"When I hear of an elderly
lady being hit over the head and her purse and package being
stolen, I call those type of people, those criminals, thugs.
And they need to damn well be stopped in this community, let
me tell you that right now," he said to applause.
Atchison compared Saskatoon
to New York, which used to have one of the highest crime rates
in the world.
"Nine years later it was
rated the safest major city in North America. And they went through
zero tolerance. And I think that's where we have to go."
Atchison said he wants to become
the next chair of the city's police commission. He wants to cut
the commission from six members to four.
"We have serious work
to do," he told his audience. "Public safety and security
is near the top of the list. A new board of police commissioners
with the mayor as the chair will bring new leadership to our
professional police service, and a new vision to attack crime."
Leanne Bellegarde-Daniels resigned
from her post as commission chair last week, saying she disagrees
with Atchison's ideas about fighting crime.
Police chief Russ Sabo said
it would not be a wise idea to close the inner city station,
adding he hopes Atchison will consider a "more balanced"
approach after he spends some time with Saskatoon's police commission.
"We are out here to try
and fight crime. But you have to do it from a balanced approach.
You cannot focus all your resources into one area. Because if
you do that you are not addressing crime perhaps at the root
cause," Sabo said.
Copyright © 2003 Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved
Hubcap
stolen off tough-on-crime mayor's car
Rod Nickel,The StarPhoenix,
December 2, 2003
Not even being Saskatoon's
new tough-on-crime mayor could prevent Mayor Don Atchison from
getting targeted himself.
If Atchison needed a sign to
convince him of the need to crack down on minor criminal offences
and bylaw infractions, he says he got it early Saturday.
Atchison says a thief made
off with one of the hubcaps on his wife's 1992 Ford Mustang while
they attended a church function off Primrose Drive.
"It proves to me we've
just got to crack down on crime," he said in an interview.
"It can happen to anyone, doesn't matter who you are.
"If you look after the
little things, the big things take care of themselves,"
said Atchison, adding he hasn't yet reported the missing hubcap
to police.
The vehicle was parked less
than two metres from the church door, Atchison said. He left
the function at 1:30 a.m.
It's unlikely thieves targeted
Atchison because of his position, since the mayor was more visible
during October's election campaign in a half-ton truck.
Thieves also stole four hubcaps
from a Cadillac parked outside a fund-raising auction for Christian
Centre Academy, which Atchison had attended, said school principal
Duff Friesen.
Volunteer security had taken
a pipe from several youths roaming the parking lot earlier in
the evening, Friesen said.
"It's fairly unusual,"
he said of the thefts.
Atchison, who chairs the city's
board of police commissioners, has promised to get more officers
on the street, cracking down on offences such as vandalism, mischief
and public urination.
That approach has raised concerns
about straining trust between aboriginal people living in the
core area and police officers.
Saskatoon Police Service have
implemented a greater focus on community policing since 2000,
targeting the root causes of crime with initiatives such as the
Little Chief community station in Riversdale.
Atchison has promised to reassign
officers from the station.
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
Saskatoon mayor rescinds
dress code for visitors
Mark Taylor, Saskatchewan
News Network; CanWest News Service, November 06, 2003
SASKATOON -- Before it ever
had a chance to go into effect, Mayor Don Atchison has rescinded
his rule requiring visitors to his City Hall office to wear a
shirt and tie or business attire.
A story in Wednesday's StarPhoenix
indicated Atchison would not meet with anyone in his office who
was not sporting semi-formal dress.
But Atchison said he changed
his mind early Wednesday morning after reading the story and
receiving a few calls from concerned citizens.
"Gee, you sound awfully
arrogant in the paper," Atchison said one unofficial adviser
told him.
Atchison said another message
read "You're not elected to sell suits and ties," perhaps
in reference to the men's clothing store he runs in addition
to his duties as mayor.
Atchison also mentioned that
until he read Wednesday's story he was unaware the rule would
effectively put an end to City Hall's casual dress Fridays.
"I guess what I thought
was a good idea perhaps wasn't such a good idea," Atchison
admitted, adding he also never intended to come off as arrogant,
as someone striving to sell more suits and ties or as someone
seeking to exclude people from his office.
"I ran (for mayor) on
the basis that I was going to have an open-door policy and that
people could see me and that is certainly the intent all the
way along and I'm certainly not getting (away from) an open-door
policy."
Fred Hamm, owner of Hamm's
Barber Shop, said he wore a tie to work Wednesday "because
Atch told me I had to wear it if I wanted to get into his office."
But Hamm found himself all
dressed up with nowhere to go after a customer told him of Atchison's
about-face regarding the rule. "We've solved a lot of the
world's problems in the barber chair," joked Hamm, who's
been cutting hair for 54 years.
Hamm, who was also joking about
visiting Atchison's office, was serious when he said the dress
code would have been unfair to many city residents who may not
even own a tie.
Atchison said he was surprised
by the attention his enforced dress code received and future
visitors to his office can use their own discretion when choosing
their outfits.
"I don't know if coming
with swimming trunks on and sandals -- I think that's what was
in the paper this morning -- I don't think that's appropriate
either," Atchison said, apparently in reference to a Jim
Maddin quote in Wednesday's story claiming visitors sometimes
wore "shorts" during visits with the mayor.
Atchison, who will "live
and learn" from his change of heart said, "We ask that
people will come dressed appropriately attired and leave it at
that."
© Copyright 2003 The Leader-Post (Regina)
Wanna see Atchison?:
You gotta wear your Sunday best
Rod Nickel The StarPhoenix,
November 3, 2003
A shirt and tie are now dress
requirements for visiting Mayor Don Atchison in his office, under
a rule he designed to increase respect for the position.
Atchison, who has been in office
for nine days after campaigning to be the "People's Mayor,"
confirmed Tuesday that everyone from councillors to city staff,
reporters and members of the public will have to don semi-formal
wear to visit him in his second-floor City Hall office.
Women are required to sport
business attire, but not necessarily ties.
"It's respect for the
position, not Don Atchison," the mayor said. "I've
always said, 'Casual dress, casual thoughts.' "
The rule is already in effect
for everyone but councillors. Atchison plans to discuss extending
the rule to them at an executive committee meeting on Monday.
"I think when people come
to see the mayor, they should have their thoughts ready to deal
with him," Atchison said. "As much as it might be nice
to sit down and chit-chat about different issues, we need to
get down to what you've come here to see the mayor for. By doing
things like (imposing a dress code), people put their thoughts
together well before they get here so we're well on our way."
Atchison, who owns a men's
dress clothing store, said he's not trying to force anyone to
buy business attire. He plans to stock ties in his office to
give visitors the choice of dressing up or meeting with him elsewhere
in the building.
The code will not discourage
access to the mayor, he predicted.
"In the past few years,
things have become very casual," Atchison said. "City
hall business shouldn't be taken casually. It's serious business
and we're dealing with taxpayers' dollars. When we're discussing
things to do with the city, I think we need to be in a business-like
mode."
The man Atchison pushed out
of the mayor's office, Jim Maddin, calls the rule "silly"
and contrary to Atchison's campaign promise to be more accessible.
"When I was in there,
I had people coming in casual clothing, blue jeans, shorts. My
experience is people who came into my office showed respect."
Atchison said he'll decide
himself the appropriateness of a visitor's clothing. However,
he said his secretaries have been informing visitors of the rule
and have not told him of any negative responses.
"If you were going to
see the premier of Saskatchewan, would you walk in with a T-shirt
on?"
The change raises concerns
for Coun. Owen Fortosky, who represents the ward that includes
some of Saskatoon's poorest neighbourhoods.
"I understand the intent
but I've heard him say many times he wants to be the 'People's
Mayor.' "
The new rule could become particularly
contentious among aboriginal people, Fortosky said, for whom
formal dress might have a different meaning.
"I'm hoping there is some
leeway."
The new dress requirement could
act as a "barrier," according to one city source who
didn't want to be named.
"There are people in this
town from all economic backgrounds. So attaching significance
to people's attire is not appropriate."
Ann St. Denis, president of
Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 59, which represents
the city's inside workers, said it would be rare for a city employee
to speak privately with the mayor. She was not aware of the new
dress requirement.
There is no dress code in effect
for indoor city employees in any situation, she said, adding
that imposing one would be a bargaining issue.
City clerk Janice Mann said
senior administrators have been briefed on the dress requirement
in Atchison's office, resulting in some adjustments.
"Basically, casual Fridays
are out because you never know when you'll be called into a meeting
(in the mayor's office)," she said.
City staff have tended to dress
more casually in the last few years, Mann said. In earlier times,
mayors would likely never have considered an office dress code
because staff voluntarily dressed more formally within City Hall
and perhaps society, she said.
Another step aimed at showing
respect for office will see councillors and the mayor address
each other with the formal titles of "Your Worship"
for Atchison and "Councillor" for other members more
often.
Atchison plans to encourage
use of the titles whenever council members discuss city business,
including at closed-door meetings.
"I don't want us to get
down to the personal level. Titles separate you from the person.
When it's said and done, people can go out and have a coffee
together and disassociate the two of them. Because when we do
our discussions, it should not be on a personal level. It should
be on a philosophical level of politics."
Accepted practice has been
to refer to each other by first names at closed-door meetings,
although Atchison said he personally has always used titles.
Outside of conducting city
business, "it's just good old 'Don,' " Atchison said.
The most public change Atchison
plans to bring to city council chambers will see a recording
of the national anthem played before public meetings of all council.
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
|
Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
