By Bre McAdam

Saskatoon’s Little Chief Police Station to close

Aug 18, 2011 | 6:55 AM

Saskatoon City Council is closing the Little Chief Police Station on 20th Street.

The Riversdale station got the axe during a Tuesday night city services review meeting.

Randy Pshebylo is the executive director with the Riversdale Business Improvement District which also operates out of the Little Chief Station.

“When you look at the crime rate that used to be here, this station was necessary because the residents and business owners had called for a visible police presence,” said Pshebylo, adding that other projects like River Landing helped clean up crime in the area.

Pshebylo says if the city is going to close the station, there needs to be a trade off.

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“We see the need for the eight officers, but not the six proposed in the cuts,” said Pshebylo.

Neighbours react

Rob Hills owns Great West Warehouse across from the station. He agrees it's not viable to keep it open, but wishes it could have blossomed into the station it was intended to be.

“If they could convert it back to the original idea of having a couple of officers in there at all times — it would have been a great idea,” said Hills.

Hills hopes the city will consider reopening the Little Chief Police Station in the future.

The City of Saskatoon decided to focus on beat patrol rather than having officers behind a desk.

But many say it's the building that provides both business owners and customers with a sense of safety.

news@panow.com

by Bre McAdam

Saskatoon’s Little Chief Police Station to close

Neighbours react

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