(File photo/ battlefordsNOW staff)

By Kenneth Cheung

STAFFING

City urges public patience as CSO shortage slows bylaw response

Jun 16, 2025 | 5:00 PM

City officials say a staffing shortage in North Battleford’s Community Safety Officer (CSO) program is delaying response times for bylaw enforcement, prompting calls for patience from residents.

During a recent council meeting, Deputy Chief Paul Perry said a spike in calls over the past four months could be linked to reduced staffing in the CSO unit.

“Right now, we have three on staff, and we just had [a] new member start on Monday (June 9), and we’re still doing ongoing interviews,” Perry told council. “We have a couple of prospects that are looking favourable, but it’s still an ongoing process.”

According to the department’s May report, the CSO team has fulfilled 4,084 duties since January, including 705 calls for service.

The unit is normally staffed with six officers but is currently operating with four — two fully trained CSOs, one bylaw officer in training, and a CSO supervisor.

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In a follow-up interview, Director of Protective Services Lindsay Holm said several officers have left to pursue careers with police agencies, including the RCMP and Saskatoon Police Service.

“With respect to our shortfall, we do have an amazing crew of CSOs,” Holm said. “Because they are really good officers… we tend to lose a few of them to other police agencies.”

Despite reduced staffing, Holm said call volume remains high because public demand for service continues regardless of how many officers are available.

“We do have a very significant call volume that we deal with every day,” he said. “So when we receive calls for service from the general public, we will prioritize the most important ones and deal with those as quickly as possible. On the lighter end of things… that may take a little bit lower precedent.”

Lower-priority complaints, such as parking violations or yard maintenance issues, are still being addressed, though with possible delays.

During the council meeting, Mayor Kelli Hawtin said the public is ‘feeling the pinch of being short-staffed.’

“My office has been feeling more concerned about follow-up on bylaws and things like that than typical.”

In the meantime, she encouraged residents ‘to be a bit patient.’

“Because we’ve been very short in that department,” she said.

Holm echoed that call and reminded residents to keep reporting concerns.

“Just have a little patience with their officers. They are doing the best that they can with the resources that we do have right now,” he said.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com