Council to Consider Base Tax for Policing in Prince Albert

Prince Albert City Council will be considering a $35 base tax to support the Prince Albert Police Service at the upcoming City Council meeting on Monday, April 12, 2021. The base tax is proposed to be applied to each property in Prince Albert and will generate enough revenue annually to fund four new officers requested by the Police Service during 2021 budget deliberations.

"We heard loud and clear during the last election that policing was an issue for residents," said Mayor Greg Dionne. "This base tax is applied equally to every door in Prince Albert whether you are residential, multi-residential or commercial. We all benefit from effective policing and this will generate the revenue we need to support the Police Service."

Prince Albert is a community of 36,000 but as a regional service center for Central and Northern Saskatchewan, the population it serves is often much higher. The Police Service reports that more than 30% of police interactions are with residents from outside the corporate limits of Prince Albert. Over the last several decades this has put pressure on front line resources and is reflected in the increase in calls for service.

The police service regularly responds to a much higher than average number of calls for service from the public when measured against other similar-sized police agencies across the province and the rest of the country. In 2020, the Prince Albert Police Service responded to more than 40,000 calls, an increase of 11.47 per cent over 2019, many involving those whose primary residence is outside Prince Albert.

In the first three months of 2021, Prince Albert Police officers have already responded to more than 10,500 calls for service.

"Our police members respond to an average of 50 calls during each 12-hour shift, and often more than that, especially during the warmer months of the year," Chief Bergen said. "Over the Easter weekend alone, some of our shifts came close to 100 calls within a 12-hour span. Our police members continue to respond to more calls involving gang activity and firearms, while also working to manage numerous calls involving alcohol and drug abuse that lead to incidents of violence, property crime, and public mischief and threaten the safety of individuals and families in our community."

"We know that policing is not the solution alone to deal with root causes of crime, but it is one part of community safety and one that we have direct control over as a municipality," added Mayor Dionne. "This is action we can take today to support our Police Service to do the best job they can on behalf of residents while we look to our community partners and our senior levels of government to support us and our community on the social issues that lead to crime."

"Public safety and crime prevention is a priority for local residents, and proactive policing is a priority for our service as well," Chief Bergen added. "We have also heard the concerns from the community about the need to better address issues of violence and crime stemming from chronic addictions and mental health crises, especially those affecting some of our most vulnerable residents, but, our service simply doesn't have the resources to respond to all the challenges we are facing while also being more proactive in addressing root-cause issues and dealing with crime before it happens."

"If a base tax is approved it would allow for additional police resources in Prince Albert equipping us to deploy members to more proactive and preventive policing initiatives that would better balance the work load of our front-line members and enhance our overall service to the community," he said. "As a police service, we recognize the fiscal challenges our community and residents are facing, and are grateful for the efforts of city councillors in considering enhanced public safety measures for our community."

In addition to patrol and the Criminal Investigations Division, the Prince Albert Police Service has several dedicated teams committed to combatting drug and gang violence in Prince Albert, including the Street Enforcement Team (SET), Integrated Crime Reduction Team (ICRT), Crime Suppression Team, and the Prince Albert Integrated Intelligence Unit (PAIIU). Two Community Safety Officers (CSO) also assist members on patrol, responding to calls involving minor vehicle accidents, shoplifting and theft. 

The police service's Family Safety Unit and PACT support families and individuals in crisis, while the Community Policing Unit is focused on enhanced police patrols on the Rotary Trail, the downtown area of the city, and the Cornerstone and South Hill shopping areas.

Members also continue to conduct high-visibility proactive patrols of the community, known as Neighbourhood Strengthening patrols. Up to April 6, 2021, members had completed just over 1,350 Neighbourhood Strengthening patrols across all areas of the city.

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Mayor Greg Dionne
(306) 953-4300

Jon Bergen
Prince Albert Police Chief
(306) 930-7063