A Downtown and Riversdale Community Safety plan is expected from the Saskatoon Police Service next month, but Police Chief Troy Cooper says enforcement and public safety initiatives are already underway.

Cooper says to address nuisance behaviour concerns being brought forward by downtown business owners, during the month of April, there was a “Bikes and Beats” enforcement initiative. During that time officers issued 84 tickets, visited 100 businesses and made 49 arrests.

Cooper suggests those arrests, depending what they were for, can highlight some of the gaps in areas like addictions.
He says policing by itself isn’t going to be sufficient enough, and that’s why they need outreach and city partnerships, along with the upcoming Downtown and Riversdale Community Safety plan.

Cooper also says Alternate Response Officers, trained Special Constables who facilitate outreach and referral services, were another initiative recently rolled out for support downtown.
The safety plan for the downtown core and Riversdale area is expected to be presented to the Board of Police Commissioners in June.