Community safety officers in North Battleford now have expanded powers to investigate low-risk offences in the city.
At a ceremony outside City Hall Thursday afternoon, city and provincial officials were on hand to announce the changes that have come into effect as of June 1:
The city’s CSOs now have authority to investigate certain low-risk not-in-progress Criminal Code offences, such as vandalism, mischief or theft under $5000;
CSOs can now respond to motor vehicle collisions without injuries with city limits;
Such investigations are now being diverted away from the RCMP, who are being been freed up to manage more serious investigations.
According to statistical data from 2016, Battlefords detachment received reports of 3,000 incidents of these types, or about 20 percent of the volume, said Mayor Ryan Bater at the news conference.
This is the latest step in the development of the Community Safety Officer program that was introduced in early 2014 in North Battleford and now has seven members.
“We believed at that time and continue to believe that innovation and a new approach was required,” said Bater. It remains the first program of its kind in Saskatchewan.
Back in 2014, city bylaw enforcement officers took on duties as Community Safety Officers for traffic enforcement and other enhanced duties.
Now, they have added the responsibilities for lower-level Criminal Code offences and MVAs. Work has gone on for the last 18 months to put the expanded duties into place, with multiple agencies involved in the discussions.
“It’s not something you can do unilaterally,” said Bater. “This is something the city had to work together with the government of Saskatchewan to have the authority to do this, to work with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to develop the partnership and develop the protocols in place.”
From a citizen point of view, however, Bater adds residents should still call 911 if they see a crime happening such as theft or mischief, and it will be the RCMP who make the call whether it is the CSOs who act on it.
Bater was also asked in the media scrum about the ongoing perceptions from residents that the CSOs are nothing more than traffic enforcement or “rent-a-cops.”
“They’re not rented, they’re full-time employees of the city,” said Bater.
He adds the CSOs are there “to enforce the law, they are there do their work, and we expect the residents of North Battleford will respect that. For those who have some misgivings about their role, if you don’t break the law, they don’t bother you.”
Justice Minister and Attorney-General Gordon Wyant welcomed the announcement at City Hall and offered praise for North Battleford’s efforts to launch the CSO program.
“They needed a way to tackle community concerns that are low risk for harm, but high priority for their communities. I think the province listened,” Wyant said.
He noted interest in the program continues to grow from municipalities and there are currently 35 people trained to be CSOs in the province. “This is an important part of the government’s mission to make the province a better place to live,” said Wyant.
Assistant Commissioner Curtis Zablocki, Commanding officer of F Division, noted the positive impact for the RCMP of the expanded authority for the CSOs .
“By expanding those duties one of the anticipated results will be an even greater capacity for the RCMP to focus on more serious criminal activity. It also allows us to be more responsive to the calls and concerns of those we serve – a win-win for the community and for the RCMP.”
