Saskatoon Police Service

Saskatoon Police Service
Logo of the Saskatoon Police Service.
Motto	Neque Timore Neque Favore
	Neither by fear nor by favour
Agency overview
Formed	1903
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Legal jurisdiction	Municipal/Provincial
General nature	Law enforcement Civilian agency
Operational structure
Headquarters	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Sworn members	475(2009)
Unsworn members	109(2009)
Agency executive	Clive Weighill, Chief of Police
Website
Official website

Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) is the municipal police force in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada and holds both municipal and provincial jurisdiction. Police Chief Clive Weighill is the head of the force. The deputy chiefs are Deputy Chief Gary Broste (Administration), and Deputy Chief Bernie Pannell (Operations). The SPS operates in partnership and cooperation with the Corman Park Police Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

History

In 1882 the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) established a detachment in Saskatoon. In 1889, Constable Clisby of the NWMP was established as Saskatoon's first permanent police officer.

1910 Police Force

In 1903 Robert E. Dunning was made the first Chief of Police in the City of Saskatoon. In 1910 the first Rules and Regulations of the Saskatoon Police Department were approved.

In 1977 the new police station was opened on the spot of the old station which was demolished. The current parking lot is where the previous building stood. An abandoned tunnel still exists underground streching from the current parkinglot, across 23rd street to the old post office. The new building cost roughly $5.5 million (1977) and has a floor space of 101,000 feet squared. In 2010 The city of Saskatoon drew plans to extend 25th street to Idylwyld Drive and this is to be the location for the new police station. Construction is to begin in 2011 and should be finished in 2013.

Parking lot on the North side of the station. Location of old station

Shoot-outs of the Eighties

The Saskatoon Police experienced many situations where the result was a "shoot-out" of some sort. These situations helped the Police Commission replace the under powered .38 calibre revolvers with .40 calibre Glock22s in 1991. One event that would help accomplish this was the Canarama Mall Shootout.

• Fire Hall #1 Shootout, March 7, 1982

• Husky House Shootout, May 18, 1982

• Famous Canarama Mall Shootout, July 5, 1982

• Snowberry Downs Shootout, December 14, 1982

• The Great Wendy's Shootout April 6, 1987

International police peacekeeping operations

Constable Johnstone on patrol in Afghanistan 2009

With struggling police forces worldwide there is a need for trained police officers to help training these forces. During 2009 and 2010 Constable Andrew Johnstone went to Afghanistan to train their police, and Sergeant Pat Barbar in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Other members of the SPS have worked in other countries for other UN operations, such as Sergeant Darcel Pittman and former Deputy Chief Keith Atkinson in Kosovo in 2000. They play widely varying roles within each mission, from patrolling streets and training police recruits to providing humanitarian assistance, ensuring security for elections and investigating human rights violations.

Departments

Departments and special departments.

• Patrol
• Traffic
• Investigative Services
  • Major Crime
  • Personal Violence Section
  • Fraud
  • General Investigations
• Investigative Support
  • Forensic Identification
  • Criminal Intelligence
• Air Support Unit
• Anti Graffiti Unit
• Canine Unit
• Communications
• Community Response Unit
• Emergency Response Team (ERT)
• Explosive Disposal Unit (EDU)
• Planning and reaserch
• Public Safety Unit
• School Resource Officers

Structure

As of 2009 the SPS has 475 sworn officers, and 109 civilian positions. The ranks are as follows:

• Chief

Chief Clive Weighill

• Deputy Chief

• Superintendent

• Inspector

• Lieutenant (Rank has been dropped by the SPS)

• Staff Sergeant

• Sergeant

• Corporal (Rank has been dropped by the SPS)

• Constable

Police Chiefs

Chief Dunning 1905 - 1915

Chief Donald 1915 - 1946

Chief Milne 1946 - 1953

Chief Kettles 1954 - 1977

Chief Gibbon 1977 - 1982

Chief Penkala 1982 - 1991

Chief Maguire 1991 - 1996

Chief Scott 1996 - 2001

Chief Matthews 2001

Chief Sabo 2001 - 2006

Chief Weighill 2006–present

Inquiries

Accusations against the Saskatoon Police Service have resulted in public inquiries. One such inquiry is presently taking place (as of July 2006) and involves the investigation into the murder of a nursing student in Saskatoon in 1969. David Milgaard was convicted of this murder but was later cleared of this charge through DNA evidence which was unavailable at the time of his trial.

Starlight tours

Main article: Saskatoon freezing deaths

The Saskatoon police has engaged in starlight tours, the practice of taking aboriginal men to the edge of the city in the dead of winter and abandoning them.

In January 2000, Darrel Night was dropped off on the outskirts of Saskatoon but was able to survive. The two officers involved were convicted of unlawful confinement in September 2001 and sentenced to eight months in prison.

Some other Aboriginal men that may have been subject to starlight tours are Rodney Naistus, Lawrence Wegner and Neil Stonechild. Rodney Naistus and Lawrence Wegner died in 2000 and their bodies were discovered on the outskirts of Saskatchewan. However inquests in 2001 and 2002 into their deaths were unable to determine the circumstances that led to their deaths. The inquest juries made recommendations related to police policies and police/Aboriginal relations.

Neil Stonechild's body was found in 1990 in a field outside Saskatoon. A 2003 inquest was not able to determine the circustances that lead to his death. Two officers were dismissed from the Saskatoon Police Service for their alleged involvement in this matter. No charges have been laid in the death of Neil Stonechild. Their dismissal is presently under review and new evidence was recently presented (2007) suggesting that a criminal interested in preventing Stonechild from testifying against him was responsible. A friend of Stonechild who is currently in provincial jail talked to police and reported seeing his friend in the backseat of a car struggling with two native men, on the night Stonechild died, who have had problems with him. Indicating that the two officers had nothing to do with his death.

In 2003, police chief Russell Sabo admitted that there was a possibility that the force had been dumping Native people outside the city for years, after revealing that in 1976 an officer was disciplined for taking a Native woman to the outskirts of the city and abandoning her there.

See also

• Saskatoon
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• Rotary Museum of Police and Corrections
• Little Chief Service Station - community outreach station

Notes

1. ^http://www.saskatoon.ca/DEPARTMENTS/Infrastructure%20Services/Transportation/TransportationPlanning/Pages/25th%20Street%20Extension.aspx

References

• The Wrongful Conviction of David Milgaard (2006). CBC.ca. Accessed July 9, 2006.

External links

• Saskatoon Police Service