By TERRY PUGH
The Corman Park Police Service (CPPS) has seen a steady year-over-year increase in calls for service, according to CPPS Chief Ron Chomyn.
And while that trend reflects the rising incidence of rural property crime in the area, it also shows that people are more likely to report incidents to police.
“We encourage people to call us,” said Chomyn. “Lots of times people say, ‘sorry to bother you.’ But that’s what we’re here for. We want you to bother us, because what you might be calling in about may be something that has been going on or occurring for weeks, and nobody has let us know. So it might give us an opportunity to respond and locate a person who might be a suspect or has been doing criminal activity for months.
“Your call could be the critical piece of the puzzle we’ve been looking for in a particular case.”
Public input is key to an effective police service, said Chomyn, noting the concept dates back to the founding of the first municipal police force in London, England in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel.
“We always refer to Peel’s Principles as a guide,” he said. “The major point is ‘the police are the public and the public are the police.’ The reason people are calling us is they’re seeing something that they feel is not quite right. As a police officer, if I’m out there and I see something that I don’t think is quite right, I’m going to investigate it. So when people call us, we do the investigation on their behalf.”
Chomyn said property crime in rural areas is increasing as a direct result of the rise in drug trafficking and the addiction crisis.
“Over the last three and a half years, the presence of meth, fentanyl and cocaine; the harder drugs; is a lot more prevalent than it used to be,” said Chomyn, adding that crime rates also tend to rise in tandem with population growth.
“Crime will increase as growth happens,” he said. “As your residential and commercial areas grow, crime will go up because there are more opportunities out there for individuals who decide that their path in life is to steal property and sell it. Property crime is kind of streaky. If there are a few individuals committing thefts and they’re convicted and incarcerated for six or nine months of the year, then you’ll see property crimes go down because they’re off the playing field, so to speak.”
But, he added, the “addiction aspect” also pushes up the rate of property crime.
“People who have addiction problems need money,” he said. “And so stealing something and selling it is quick money.”
Chomyn said the Corman Park Police Service works closely with the Saskatoon Police Service and RCMP.
“We have a property crime group that meets regularly,” he said. “The group includes members from each agency. Technology is very helpful because it allows us to share information quickly. We have an app that allows each agency to share real-time information. So, if a certain vehicle is used to steal a trailer from someone’s farmyard, and there are surveillance camera photos of that vehicle available, they can put it on the app right away so all the officers in each agency can be on the lookout for it.”
Chomyn said clamping down on drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs is a priority for CPPS.
“It’s disappointing that people still have that attitude of ‘it won’t happen to me’, and they drive while they’re impaired when they could make other, safer choices,” said Chomyn. “I’ve worked checkstops for many years and dealt with hundreds of impaired drivers over my career. In a way you feel bad for them because if you’re caught, it’s going to change your life. It could result in a criminal record; your vehicle is impounded and you may lose your driver’s license.
“Hopefully, they’re not involved in an incident where someone has been injured or killed. We work closely with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and with Linda and Lou Van de Vorst, who lost family members to an impaired driver.
“When you see the grief they still have, that makes you want to go out and prevent that from happening to some other family. Our members are very focused on impaired driving because it destroys families.”
Chomyn said police agencies regularly set up checkstops throughout the year, noting that funding from SGI helps defray the cost of many of these operations.
The checkstops invariably result in getting impaired drivers off the road. He noted that in the past three and a half years, only one checkstop CPPS officers participated in did not find an impaired driver.
Chomyn said drug-impaired driving is a growing concern.
“We’re starting to see quite an increase in drivers impaired by cannabis and cocaine,” he said. “We currently have roadside oral testing devices that detect the presence of THC and cocaine, and all our officers are trained to do standard field sobriety tests.”
But, he added, there are still enforcement gaps that need to be filled because the tools police can use are limited.
“Right now in Canada, the government has not approved testing to determine the presence of methamphetamines or fentanyl or other drugs,” said Chomyn. “The only approved tests are for cannabis and cocaine. So when our officers stop a driver and see that he or she is clearly impaired, but they test negative for alcohol, cannabis or cocaine, it’s concerning.”
Chomyn said speed and aggressive driving are also ongoing issues in the region, particularly on Highways 12 and 11 north of Saskatoon.
“The amount of traffic coming out to Martensville and Warman, now, compared to when they used to be small towns, is huge,” said Chomyn. “But it’s not just the volume of traffic, it’s the speed and aggressiveness of drivers; so if there’s a collision, it almost always involves several vehicles.
“It’s especially a concern at those intersections like Lutheran Road and Highway 12, where traffic is so heavy at peak periods and people take chances trying to cross the highway. They put themselves in jeopardy and we’ve seen some very tragic accidents at these intersections. There have been more fatalities than I care to say.”
Chomyn said reducing the speed limit on the highways near these intersections may be one way to mitigate the risk of collisions.