Alternative response officers: investing in policing alternatives and community safety in Saskatoon, Canada

Abstract

The current demand for policing alternatives has never been higher. In Canada, police services are increasingly exploring these alternatives to address this demand. In 2021, the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS), in collaboration with the city of Saskatoon, university partners, and numerous community stakeholders, introduced an alternative response officer (ARO). The ARO is a special constable, meaning that they are sworn in as a peace officer, but are tasked with addressing community safety concerns that do not require an armed officer to attend. SPS introduced the ARO in the downtown area of Saskatoon with the intent to increase interoperability with other community service providers, increase uniformed presence in the area to act as reassurance and deterrence, and to decrease the need for armed officers to attend low-level social disorder or social welfare calls. Using activity counts and calls for service data, this study examines the implementation and early outcomes of policing alternatives for community support and policing resource management. This study has implications for investing and expanding policing alternatives and reducing policing costs to municipalities.