By Taylor MacPherson

Saskatchewan needs long-term approach to crime: researcher

Apr 12, 2017 | 12:23 PM

Saskatchewan needs a better approach to tackle the high rates of crime in the province says one public policy researcher.

Dale Eisler, senior policy fellow at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, published a report last week titled Crime in Saskatchewan: The issue too many would rather ignore in which he argued for a long-term crime reduction approach that addresses the root causes of crime. Unfortunately, Eisler said, many prefer to avoid the issue entirely.

“Crime, the determinants of crime and the social and economic consequences that result don’t get the attention they deserve, particularly from policy-makers,” Eisler told paNOW. “If you’re not directly affected you tend to make it someone else’s problem and not yours.”

Communities without political influence are almost always the most strongly impacted by crime, Eisler said, as they are the easiest for policy-makers and the general public to overlook. This, Eisler said, leaves the province’s often-marginalized First Nations communities bearing the brunt of Saskatchewan crime and the negative consequences that result.

Addressing the deeply-rooted social issues at the heart of crime can be uncomfortable, Eisler said, but that’s no excuse for governments to ignore the issue. Communities without a plan for the future are likely to see their crime rates go up.

Missing pet

'She means the world to our family': Woman seeks help in finding missing pet parrot

1h ago

BE CAREFUL ON THE ROADS

Semi flips outside P.A.; one of dozens of incidents on Sask. roads due to winter weather

1h ago

NO GO FOR BUSES

School bus routes outside P.A. canceled due to spring snowstorm

6h ago

“If there isn’t hope for a better life for themselves or their children they get very disillusioned and anti-social behaviour is not surprisingly a result,” Eisler said. “It’s an issue of providing people with opportunity and hope.”

On March 14, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities passed a resolution calling for more property and self-defence rights for residents of rural Saskatchewan, a decision which Eisler said was unlikely to have an impact on crime.

“It’s certainly not surprising that kind of sentiment would exist out there,” Eisler said, but noted the resolution only addresses the effects of crime rather than the causes.

“It’s more a question of trying to get at the issue of why is this happening,” he said. “Why do people feel the need to resort to this sort of behaviour, and what can we do about it?”

Eisler calls for a long-term, multi-faceted approach to address the root causes of Saskatchewan crime, but noted governments are often hesitant to make long-term commitments that may not pay political dividends for years. If nobody steps up, however, Eisler said the issue will continue into the future.

“We’re going to have to work at it for a number of years,” Eisler said. “Governments, community leaders, police, Indigenous leaders and others [need] to collectively make the commitment to address these challenges.”

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews