Prince Albert Police Chief Jon Bergen. (Nigel Maxwel/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Community safety

“A year of change”: P.A. police chief reflects on 2019

Dec 26, 2019 | 9:00 AM

Prince Albert’s Police Chief is the first to admit there were a number of highlights and challenges for his staff in 2019.

Among the biggest and obvious changes for Bergen himself was settling into the role of police chief. Jason Stonechild stepped into the role of Deputy Chief and the entire administration team was essentially rebuilt throughout the organization.

“2019 was a year of change,” Bergen said.

And while all this was going on, members were involved in collective bargaining, and the police service changed the way it handled dispatch. For years it was done out of the main detachment, but through the growth of technology and changes to the next gen 9-1-1 system, Bergen said the police recognized a need to invest in dispatch and update their model. That led to a new partnership agreement with CanOps and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.

“There’s a lot of emotion when you have that amount of change and that amount of uncertainty but we really worked through it and I appreciate the staff and their commitment to the service,” Bergen said.

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The police service also hired six new officers in 2019, and two more recruits joined the team in December. With so many staff (103 sworn positions), and so little space, a plan was launched early in the year to purchase the old Conexus Credit Union building in the downtown for a new police substation. A special ribbon cutting ceremony was held in November.

“We were able to purchase the substation which provided us with the square footage we needed and allows us to bring our staff under two roofs,” Bergen explained.

Some of the other challenges for police this past year had to do with drugs, gangs and property crime. By mid-year there was a noticeable increase in crimes against person, as well as property crime. In response, two special temporary units were created to focus on it, and made a quick impact. From Aug. 20 to Sept. 27., the team solved 21 cases. Fourteen people were charged and six possession of stolen property criminal charges were processed.

“I think we should be proud of what our staff did and the fact we responded in the way we did. That was something that was supported throughout the entire organization,” he said.

Meth was also very visible on the streets of Prince Albert in 2019 and showed up in multiple police arrest reports. One of the more significant seizures happened in late October, when over $100,000 worth of the drug was found inside a vehicle.

“Obviously when there are pounds of it coming through the community, that makes it readily available and meth is an extreme problem for every community that has to experience it,’ Bergen said.

Bergen added in the new year, the integrated street enforcement unit will move into the downtown substation and will focus on gangs, guns, drugs and property crime. Another big change coming next year is the expansion of the K-9 unit from two dog handlers to four.

“Often when a dog handler is available, the outcomes are different because the dog is there and is typically well respected by anyone that may be getting apprehended,” he said.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell