Five new special constables are out walking the beat in the Saskatoon Riversdale and downtown areas.

The&nbsp;Alternative Response Officers (AROs) are part of&nbsp;a one-year pilot project working on outreach and referral services, and assisting regular patrol officers and members of the Traffic Division.&nbsp;

The new officers will&nbsp;connect&nbsp;with vulnerable people, find&nbsp;the support people need&nbsp;and regularly engage&nbsp;with businesses and citizens, according to a list of duties from the Saskatoon Police Service.

Other duties will include transporting arrested persons, providing assistance in detention,&nbsp;taking complaints from citizens, writing police reports.&nbsp;and participating in parades, ceremonies and public events.

The special constables, who are not fully armed, are meant to free up&nbsp;regular police officers to respond to calls for service.&nbsp;

The AROS&nbsp;have a distinctive uniform&nbsp;— grey shirts, special constable patches and distinctly marked vehicles&nbsp;—&nbsp;to tell them apart from regular officers.

Sask. professor asks whether 'alternative response officers' are right approach to address policing concerns

A University of Saskatchewan sociology professor wonders whether a Saskatoon police pilot project that uses a new form of policing is the right solution.

Saskatoon Police Station

The pilot program consists of four 'alternative response officers' who will field calls involving vulnerable people and offer support through outreach and referrals.

Saskatoon police to put new unarmed alternative response officers on the streets

Spec. Insp. Darren Pringle said the service is recruiting for the program and noted there are people eager to be involved.

A meeting of the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners on Aug. 22, 2019. At the meeting, Mayor Charlie Clark put forward a motion to seek support from the federal and provincial government for additional police resources around Saskatoon's safe consumption site. 

Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners.

A file photo of a meeting of the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners on Aug. 22, 2019. 

The new alternative Saskatoon officers are intended to offer residents more access to support and a different tier of policing, while also saving the city money.

'Alternate police officers' start patrolling Saskatoon's downtown and Riversdale areas

More Stories Like This