Increase in intimate partner violence prompts Saskatoon police to create new response team

The number of complaints to Saskatoon police about intimate partner violence increased by 14 per cent last year. That's one reason police are creating a dedicated team to respond to these calls.

Under the new plan, family service workers and other trained experts would accompany police on calls, as well as assist with victim support and offender management.

More details are expected to be discussed at a police commission meeting Thursday.

Longtime counsellor Tammy Ens, who works frequently with both victims and offenders, said the dedicated team is a good idea and is long overdue.

She said it's important to have "someone there to talk to, to kind of assess the situation besides police."

"People react sometimes to someone in uniform, authority figures. Having someone else to step aside and maybe calm the situation down is definitely helpful."

Saskatoon police received more than 700 intimate partner violence calls in 2023, resulting in more than 500 charges, according to a police report.

Ens said she would also like to see more education in high schools to help prevent intimate partner violence. She said the housing crisis, addictions and poverty are all part of the problem.

But she said social media is also one of the triggers. It's made people more insecure, more suspicious and more angry, she said.

She said it's affecting adults just as much as youth.

"It's happening with the parents," she said. "The levels of stress — people need to figure out how to shut it down. And I find that's a lot of the stuff we're teaching and counselling, is how to de-stress and get off social media."

Ens said she'd also like to see more work in high schools to prevent intimate partner violence.

According to the report, 732 instances of intimate partner violence per 100,000 population were reported to police in Saskatchewan, the highest of any province.

Police say they hope to have the new team in place next year. It will include in-person victim support, offender management, a working partnership/collaboration with various community stakeholders and offer an off-site reporting location for victims.