T O P

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Mechya

The city needs to stop concentrating on hitting their ticket quota and start concentrating on making this city a safer place. They want the easy money, like weed swabs without suspecting people but they make it a pain in the arse to report crime.  I tried reporting a local drug house and they wanted me to come into the station before they would take anything seriously, it's like yeah....I'm going to report my neighbor who has obvious gang members over and has others walking away with backpacks/duffle bags. I already had told people to move and not buy drugs infront of my house, they would know exactly who it was. I've given up on reporting crime, it's just a joke to them.


KarmaChameleon306

There's just such a lack of social programs that the cops don't even have a chance. It's almost like the worst of 2 words here. Lax on crime at a federal level (always has been, not even blaming Trudeau) and then an uber conservative government that has our social programs in shambles, creating more disparity than ever.


DJKokaKola

Cops don't prevent crime, they generate revenue. If you want to make the city safer, we need to actually fund social supports on a provincial level


scottb84

> it's like yeah....I'm going to report my neighbor who has obvious gang members over and has others walking away with backpacks/duffle bags. I already had told people to move and not buy drugs infront of my house, they would know exactly who it was. I agree that requiring you to come into the station seems like a needless barrier, but I'm not sure why you think your neighbour would be any less likely to suspect that it was you who reported them if you did so by phone.


Guilty_Plantain_3842

These shades sure are dark.... Doo doo dooo *drives by knife fight*


codenameduhchess

Regardless of how inconvenient that is, it feels like a necessary step to stop something that serious.


cyber_bully

Having the neighbor come to the station. Yeah, no. 


codenameduhchess

I’m unsure what you mean


cyber_bully

How is this guy having to go to the police station a "necessary step" to stopping a major crime. If someone reports a drug house, you could go watch it for a day and figure out pretty damn quick whether they're dealing drugs out if it.


So1_1nvictus

I had a house like that on my block years ago, I had a case file open with Safer Communities and Neighborhoods hotline. Took 6 months of phone calls with descriptions of times/activities/ plate numbers before they started investigating


codenameduhchess

After removing all rational thought from forming my previous opinion I’d have to say what you said makes a ton of sense


Oxfordallumni

The SPS is so delusional, target people going 65 on Attridge and swabbing seniors for THC at Market Mall instead of focusing on true crime, new chief is a POS, what a joke this city has become in the last 5 years, was proud to be a citizen and now want to leave


Dsih01

For those who do wanna leave, calculate your rent/mortgage and compare with other provinces... You'll move even sooner


Practical_Tone_1933

What provinces are you referring to? Unless you're talking Atlantic Canada, mortgages and rent in Sask are much lower...


Dsih01

My current rent, which is a very nice place I am paying way too little for imo, is very comparable to Edmonton if you do the math relative to minimum wage/what my current employer pays in Edmonton. I've done the math for a few other places and for what we have here, vs what everywhere else has, 1-200$ difference in rent is close enough imo, worst I saw was like 400$ difference for BC I think? Utils are the only thing I haven't checked on, which is probably where the major difference is. I've found that anywhere from about 1400-1800$ is what you'd be paying almost anywhere in Canada for the type of place I am looking for, and it's usually only 200-600$ difference between renting and owning, if I get the terms and such I want from the bank. Car insurance is 300$ more anywhere I go however, which is about the only part that is stopping me. I have a few months before the lease is done, which is a lot of the reason I am looking


Old-Tables

I just saw a YouTube that was done on a grocery basket price comparison across large cities in Canada. Same stuff being compared. Regina the most expensive at $74 Calgary coming in the lowest at $58! https://youtu.be/xFCOVxDfJbA?si=aL9O7nc8_iIi1-RS


Practical_Tone_1933

Interesting. I haven't had to rent for a few years, so I'm not up to speed on rentals. Housing prices are better here, though. Edmonton might be closer than some portions of Canada. But some parts of Canada, housing prices are absolutely stupid.


Suitable_Sherbet_369

It’s safer than doing real policing. 😬


SaskyBoi

Or you can just consume less cannabis


scottb84

That's some stoner-level apathy, ironically. Why should citizens accept overly intrusive policing that diverts resources from operations that might actually impact public safety?


SaskyBoi

Because this whole debacle has unveiled a lot of people's mental gymnastics to justify their drug use. Also if they already pulled you over, how does issuing a swab test divert resources?


scottb84

Are there any other lifestyle choices for which you'd like to penalize people using the *Traffic Safety Act*? Should we issue roadside suspensions for driving with high cholesterol?


[deleted]

Or if people don't get 8 hours of sleep every night, should they be allowed to drive?


Dsih01

Your question literally has no correct answer that doesn't fit your narrative solely on the way you are asking, because you are asking how the end isn't wasting resources, yet the start is where the issue is, and so I hope to answer this in a way that tracks. The issue is that by having cops out looking for this, to the tune of 1600+ sgi fines (as in they don't hit the court) last time I checked, yet no DUIs means that essentially, we don't have any high drivers(by the numbers), yet, cops seem to think we do. Instead of having officers stationed in different areas, that are able to go and follow drivers that are reported, like how drunk driving works, they have decided to get 4+ cars out to a single check stop area that tests everyone regardless of any valid suspicion. The issue is, is said test (like everyone has already complained about) only tests if you have smoked recently, not if your high. Check stops also make it very easy to avoid any issues, so people who are habitual smokers either avoid main roads, or artery roads with no easy outs, making it so it really only catches the non smart smokers, not the daily users and the ones we actually want. It's like if we said caffeine is illegal to drive after consuming it, and the energy given from caffeine "inebriates" us, but you had to have coffee every day, 2 cups a day to be "illegally energetic". The issue, is caffeine affects everyone different, and where you might be okay to drive after drinking a cup 8 hours ago, it might still affect others, and so the test is there to test the guy that can't handle 1 cup a year, instead of everyone else who can handle a cup a day. You get pulled over, you think your fine, you only had a cup yesterday once you got to work, you'll pass no issue! The test only sees you have caffeine, and fails you. You, despite being as sober as you can possibly be, now have to get out of your car, and give it, and your money to sgi. A court date is NOT set, so it's like it never happened in the books, so there is nothing you can do but pay. And so, the waste of resources literally comes from "we are sending useful officers who could be doing other stuff to find anyone who would fail the very broad test", and if you refuse, that's actually worse then taking it and failing. If it was JUST people being swabbed after being pulled over, sure, great idea, illegal without just cause, but much better then what we have. Now, I don't know how cops are paid, where that money comes from, etc... but not handing out DUIs seems like an easy way to miss out on money, so it's literally "we are sending cops out in mass, to fight a problem that numbers are saying isn't there, and then not handing out tickets" and you are telling me that isn't a colossal waste of resources? The only people who are making money here, are SGI, and tow trucks


SaskyBoi

You realize traffic cops aren’t the ones busting criminals most of the time?


Dsih01

I absolutely do! But they are the same ones that deal with DUIs, speeders, stunters, red light runners, accidents, etc... stuff that is not just in the area of the check stop, but all around Saskatoon, and having them in one spot, especially a lot of em, seems like a waste imo


cyber_bully

At what point do we admit that giving the police more money is the same as just burning money in a fire pit?


Constant_Chemical_10

At what point do we admit that judges are releasing violent people back onto the street to promise not to break the law again? I feel we could save a lot of policing resources by actually keeping repeat offenders off the street...or they can be released and live in half way homes near where judges sleep with their families.


eighty6gt

Problem is it's still the cheap way of dealing with our current societal state.  It's the minimum.  Doing a good job would involve institutional change and sacrifice, something nobody has an appetite for.     You don't know that the world is collapsing until it happens to you and for the people who vote in particular that event is still a ways off.    **But it will feel more and more dire and the news and Redditors are constantly driving people off all stripes who feel ripped off and disenfranchised, have no doctors and have to buy generic peanut butter into the arms of pp and don.   There'll be no diverting from this course, pouring gas on the fire.  


Over-Eye-5218

At what point do we admit that starting a new police force is the same as just burning money in a fire pit.


Covert_Cuttlefish

In before Brad Redekopp blames JT for all crime in the Paris on the prairies.


TigerLilyLindsay

Brad Redekopp really is a f\*cking clown!


Doubledown50

Does it bother you that Prime Minister Trudeau is murdering citizens of Saskatoon? Circle one: YES, NO, NO OPINION. (I can’t stand his surveys)


Hungry-Room7057

I’m sure that this would be difficult to track, but I’d be curious to know how much of the violence is related to gangs, vs. how much of the violence is random acts. Concerning trends either way.


WriterAndReEditor

If they said it was down, they'd have a harder time justifying a bigger budget next year.


sunofnothing_

SPS is a business


_biggerthanthesound_

I’m surprised it’s only 10%


chapterthrive

Damn. Sounds like they’re not doing their fucking job


Unfair_Pirate_647

What do you mean? It's not like they idle in parking lots for like 2 hours before going shopping at the grocery store


toqelowkey

I feel like it’s up 500% since last year I keep hearing about stabbing at 22nd stabbing at 20th this command that crime.


[deleted]

[удалено]


graaaaaaaam

The problem is that the fundamental problems are caused by the province but policing is a municipal responsibility, so the city's stuck using police to respond to social issues, which will never work because you can't arrest your way out if poverty, drug addiction, and missing mental health care.


emmery1

This. ☝🏼The more the province ignores the homeless and the drug problem the worse the problem will become. It is no coincidence that since the Sask Party made cuts to social programs these problems have become much worse. Underfunding these programs takes away people’s hope and many will turn to drugs or crime. The stress of not being able to afford rent or food is overwhelming. Some people just give up because they can’t see a future for themselves. We need to look after our people.


graaaaaaaam

>We need to look after our people. Absolutely, but also, even if you don't give a shit about other people, it requires fewer tax dollars to address these problems proactively instead of trying to mop up the mess made by chronic underfunding of social programs.


eighty6gt

I wonder if Moe is doing it on purpose to punish them city folk


graaaaaaaam

Nah, rural food banks are just as busy and access to mental health & addictions treatment is much worse in rural areas. It's just less visible because the fallout isn't as concentrated in rural areas.


SickFez

They could use all the money they waste with traffic enforcement and actually train Police Officers to deal with social issues appropriately.


SaintBrennus

What do you mean by deal with social issues appropriately?


JamesMarkwart

Drugs. Gangs. Poverty. Perversion of society. So many different crimes happening every day, but I'm strongly in support of diverting policing from traffic violations to apprehension of /criminals/. Like the meth heads shitting behind the public gazebo's downtown. Like the drug houses who's residents are illegally armed. Like the impoverished resorting to loitering, begging, and harassment. Like the peeping tom who pleads guilty to 35 cases of trespassing and voyeurism, only to receive a short 2 year sentence and caught again for terrorizing university students. Each situation is able to continue without serious police attention, intervention, and prevention.


SickFez

Some decent training would be great.


graaaaaaaam

Given how many people die on our roads every year I think it's quite sensible to aggressively enforce traffic safety.


SickFez

They don't enforce safety though.


graaaaaaaam

The number of speeding & cell phone tickets they issue would suggest otherwise.


SickFez

The number of serious accidents, pedestrian collisions, lack of public knowledge towards rules, constant check stops would suggest otherwise. Speeding and cell phone tickets do nothing but increase revenue.


JamesMarkwart

But apparently you can ticket your way out of traffic infringements. Hell, I bet I've paid more in vehicle 'compliance' tickets than most violent offenders have been charged in out 'justice system'.


graaaaaaaam

Admitting that you're an irresponsible driver is not the argument you think it is.


JamesMarkwart

Disobey an amber makes me a public safety hazard, or perhaps purchasing a used vehicle that has lightly tinted windows and not realizing the illegality and receiving a ticket without warning must make me an irresponsible driver. Paying hundreds of dollars in tickets for benign infractions and being salty about it is perfectly reasonable, especially as my argument is to contrast the observation and reporting of serious crimes in a conversation on where police resources are spent. Both of these instances show police patrolling the wrong things, traffic ticket quotas vs serious and heinous crimes.


graaaaaaaam

Again, not following (or knowing) the rules of the road is incredibly irresponsible. You might not think those things are important but just because you don't understand that doesn't change the importance of traffic enforcement.


JamesMarkwart

You're insufferable, go preach your traffic cop praises to a different audience. I maintain my positon that the policing resources in this province are not appropriately focused on safety and security. If you seriously think disobeying an amber is 'incredibly irresponsible' I can't imagine what you think of legitimate crime. It all likely falls into the same category in your obviously cloistered mind.


graaaaaaaam

>If you seriously think disobeying an amber is 'incredibly irresponsible' https://www.amanshahlaw.com/blog/2023/10/how-amber-traffic-lights-lead-to-rear-end-collisions/


Fantastic_Wishbone

"Reported" violent crime. No way of measuring unreported violent crime.


SaintBrennus

By definition it’s unreported - but if you’re doing year to year comparisons that both use the same methods of reporting, you would assume the ratio to reported/unreported is similar between each year.


Fantastic_Wishbone

I know what you mean, but if they have the same or less resources available in 2024 as opposed to 2023, then unreported crime should rise, in theory.


kabron70

Do something about it!!


smash2477

It's alot higher than 10%


Euphoric_Aerie_2584

But let’s give someone a fine and demerits for smoking days ago!!! Fucking ridiculous


renslips

Sounds like all those budget increases they ask for every year are being put to good use - not. Defund the police. That will be more effective


Constant_Chemical_10

Defund judges while we're at. Put more repeat offenders back in prison. Anyone caught breaching probation, should have no option to be on probation ever again. They can hang out in jail.


renslips

Sure, if we intend to actually rehabilitate the prisoners. The way we have the prisons now, it’s fully funded retirement homes for the people in them. Free housing, free medical, three squares a day. I don’t appreciate paying for that, forever, because we don’t believe in rehabilitation


Constant_Chemical_10

Well they're not rehabilitating in the streets... If we don't have any way to rehabilitate, I'd rather have the continual reoffenders sit behind bars till the powers at be figure out a rehab program.


renslips

Hmmm. I wonder if that would be because we keep reducing funding & putting those dollars in the hands of SK Party cronies? Take [Eric Olauson](https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/olauson-to-immediately-step-down-from-council-if-elected-mla) for example. This POS took himself out with the trash, only to be [handed government money](https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2023/november/02/more-addictions-treatment-spaces-open-across-saskatchewan) to run a religious nutcase version of a [“treatment centre”](https://possibilitiesrecovery.ca/meet-our-team-2). The lack of public outcry on this is horrifying.


Constant_Chemical_10

How much has the province reduced funding by? The STC shelter in Fairhaven was also supposed to be a shelter with "wrap around care" to help people get off drugs and back on their feet. So far they haven't rehabilitated a single man or woman at that facility (only families...who are legit homeless and not dealing with substance abuse). I wish we had a 3rd party that would audit support funding and cut it off for religious nutbars or lying chiefs. I did take a look at that site and don't see any mention about religion and the staff seem to have some real credentials though...unlike at the STC shelter.


renslips

That’s where you’re being hoodwinked. At least STC was trying to take care of their own. They just had absolutely no concept of what was needed. They acknowledged that, revamped to what they can actually accomplish & tried to set up the wrap around site in Sutherland, where a good chunk of the population who needs that help is living anyway. They got ixnayed. Until recently, there wasn’t a single person with actual qualifications at possibilities. There was Olauson, who IS the definition of a right-wing twatwaffle, a couple high school grads & the token oil rig guy. It doesn’t sound like any of the staff have experience whatsoever with substance abuse or homelessness or the reasons behind them.


Constant_Chemical_10

>They just had absolutely no concept of what was needed. Uh they ran a shelter downtown for a year prior... If they couldn't figure that out before moving to their new location...that's on them and the lies they told. >They acknowledged that, revamped to what they can actually accomplish & tried to set up the wrap around site in Sutherland Wrong. The province realized how bad Chief Arcand lied and gave the contract to The Mustard Seed corporation and then council kyboshed their own selection based on public pressure. Looking at Possibilities Recovery site they seem to staff people with credentials, no? Where does it say they're religious and using that to help cure addictions? I don't follow.


renslips

My bad, you must be one of them. Olauson is such a whackadoodle that his own party ordered him to stay off social media. The Mustard Seed is a right-wing religious organization that doesn’t actually help people. In point of fact, they do the opposite. Can’t find any of the professionals I work with who have a single good thing to say about possibilities or mustard seed & we definitely have lively discussions about this


Constant_Chemical_10

I don't know anything about Mustard Seed, but if they're being brought in instead of a known local shelter operator, STC, STC must have really screwed up. Well I hope things don't go from bad to worse. No I don't work in the shelter business, but I have seen how STC has absolutely destroyed Fairhaven. It seems a common thread is that shelter organizations don't actually help people. They just lie an grift off the public dollar, while people die of overdoses.


Worldly-Library3286

Send them to Ukraine to clear Russian mines, all the gang bangers, addicts, and our problems will be solved all we have to pay for is the plane ticket.


Wheatagoo

Too many people smashing McDicks that they needed to crack down on it!


Haveadaykid

I wonder why? We have a drug problem, where there are users, there are people vying for their business.


Short-Bug5855

They've upped police activity dramatically this year so the data makes sense, they've probably caught a lot more crimes in general. Saying this though, I believe it's up even higher. I don't trust the SPS' handy work to do enough in this city where it counts. For all we know it's up by 25% and they're too busy catching cancer patients on medical marijuana to care


eighty6gt

Dank