The provincial minister of corrections and policing told a North Battleford audience Monday that the province was hearing their concerns about crime.
Corrections and Policing Minister Christine Tell was in the city for a noon luncheon at Caleb Village, organized by the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce.
There weren't any real surprises coming from the minister Monday. There were no funding announcements or any new news from the province.
Instead, Tell focused her remarks on what steps the province was already taking in the Battlefords and the approach the government was taking towards crime - and to reassure people they were listening.
"That's why I'm here today: to assure you I hear you, and your concerns, and we take these concerns very seriously," said Tell in her remarks.
"Although some trends in the crime rate in North Battleford have seen some improvement over the last number of years, the overall crime rate remains far too high at triple the provincial rate."
While police, prosecutors and a vigilant community were described as important in addressing crime, "they are only part of the solution," said Tell. "The other part lies in fixing parts of our system."
Tell pointed to remand time as a particular issue.
"The number of prisoners held in remand in our facilities is cause for concern," said Tell, noting keeping people in remand with "little programming and no case plans because they are getting out in quick order means we are not helping them be constructive in getting their lives back on track."
Worse, many of those in jail for a short period of time end up worse, she noted, with "more criminal connections than when they went in." The high costs of keeping people in remand were also identified as an issue.
Tell reiterated her commitment to "find better solutions" and "ensure your tax dollars are used to keep communities safe," and pointed to the province's introduction of the HUB in various communities as a "made-in-Saskatchewan solution."
"By breaking down long standing communications barriers, HUBs work collaboratively to treat the root causes of crime," she noted.
In speaking to the Regional Optimist, Tell said her goal in speaking in North Battleford was to "ensure we communicate effectively as to what we're doing in the community in this region, and letting the community know how important they are to reducing crime in this area and across Saskatchewan."
She said the biggest issue was to "reduce the demand of going into our system, our correctional facilities, our young offender facilities. We need to decrease demand."
Tell said that was what the HUB was intended to do.
"It's worked and significantly reduced areas of crime in Prince Albert, and they will do it here, also."
Tell did not say much in her speech about the "centres of responsibility" that are being proposed to go along with the HUBs. Those would be located in "strategic areas in Saskatchewan. And everybody, with the Internet and the way our systems are working nowadays, everybody can have access to exactly the same thing. All the data is inputted into the COR. All the information - everybody can have access to it."
Tell reiterated the government's intention to set up CORs but indicated there were no decisions yet on locations, saying "the data is being looked at."
The minister did praise the city for some of its efforts, including the appointment of new community safety officers this past summer to do enhanced bylaw enforcement and help reduce the load on the local RCMP.
"Our officials reviewed the plan and were greatly impressed to see North Battleford taking such a proactive step to increase public safety," said Tell.
As well, the minister offered encouragement to the City of North Battleford for hiring Herb Sutton in the role of community program co-ordinator on a six-month contract.
"Having a co-ordinator will serve your community very well," Tell said. But while the City has been publicly urging the province to provide funding to make it a year-round role, Tell said "we haven't had any in-depth discussions of funding for this particular position."
The audience at Caleb Village included municipal officials including Mayor Ian Hamilton, who seemed satisfied with what he heard from Tell.
"The minister reiterated what our discussions had been over the last number of months and more," said Hamilton.
"The province is obviously aware of our situation here in North Battleford and are working closely with us to make a difference. I think some of the initiatives are lending themselves to some very positive results at this point in time."
