Weapons, drugs prompts use of force increase

The streets of Saskatoon are getting more dangerous for the police and the public.

A new Saskatoon Police Service report shows the use of force by police continued to rise in 2017, a trend attributable to more weapons and drugs on the street.

The number of police incidents that involved force rose by 31 per cent in 2017 — to 264 from 201 in 2016. In 2015, 186 incidents were reported.

The largest increase happened in vehicle pursuits, which jumped to 180 last year from 149 in 2016. In 2015, police reported only 54 vehicle pursuits.

“Due to an increasing prevalence in the use of illicit drugs such as methamphetamine, our officers are encountering and arresting more violent individuals,” noted the report, written by Insp. Patrick Nogier.

Police Chief Troy Cooper and his predecessor, Clive Weighill, both linked an increase in police use of force and overall crime to rising meth use.

It’s not just drugs, though, Nogier’s report says — weapons are on the rise, too.

“Another trend throughout 2016 was a noticeable increase in violent behaviour and the added presence of weapons on the street,” the report states. “These trends continued throughout 2017 with notable increases in armed robbery (29 per cent) and weapon offences (27 per cent).”

More weapons have also resulted in an “unprecedented” 32 times when police response entailed a “full tactical deployment.” That means a tactical support team was dispatched to an incident in addition to a patrol unit.

Nobody died as a result of police force in 2017. One person was killed in an encounter with police in 2016.

However, the number of people injured in encounters with police — both officers and suspects — keeps going up.

Among suspects, 110 were injured in 2017, up from 101 in 2016 and 60 in 2015. Of these 110, 101 required medical attention and 27 were hospitalized. That compares to 83 suspects who needed medical attention in 2016 and 53 the previous year.

Twenty-one suspects were hospitalized in 2016 and 18 in 2015.

In 2017, 30 police officers were injured — more than in the previous two years combined. Eight officers needed medical attention in 2017 and one wound up in hospital.

Police fired their guns 14 times in 2017, but 11 of these incidents were to kill a dangerous animal. That’s up from eight in each of the two previous years.

Conducted energy weapons were used 21 times in 2017, up from 11 in 2016 and 17 in 2015. Police dogs were used 33 times in 2017, compared to 36 in 2016 and 27 in 2015.

The board of police commissioners is expected to consider the report when it meets on Thursday.