Saskatoon business forced to cut hours as harassment, crime reach extreme levels

The Saskatoon Police Service has confirmed that there have been higher numbers of social disorder calls this year in the downtown area.

Businesses are closing early and locking their doors as a result of harassment and assault from members of the public.

Mandy Thibodeau, owner of Saskatoon’s downtown Subway franchise, said that crime in the area has been bad for the decade they have been open, but has recently reached an extreme.

She said they are constantly dealing with assaults, death threats, verbal abuse, racism and theft.

“I feel for my staff, and I am scared for their safety,” said Thibodeau. “It’s not just their physical safety but it’s their mental health, their well-being. To have to go to work every day and have to deal with that and have to come in scared and working and not knowing what’s going to happen.”

After hearing safety concerns from her employees, Thibodeau decided to temporarily cut the hours of her business to daytime operation only. She now sends her closing staff home at 5 p.m. every day.

“It’s more than running a business right now, at this point it’s about taking care of my staff and the ones that I care about.”

Thibodeau said that they experience repeat thefts because there are no consequences for the offenders. They often have the same three young males that enter the shop to steal, she noted.

“My employee ended up on the floor, they called the cops. (Police) came – of course, nothing came of it.”

Thibodeau said that the thieves returned the next day but had already left her business and crossed the street by the time she could call the authorities. She said pleaded with the Saskatoon Police Service over the phone because they refused to send someone.

“They said it was already out of my store, so it wasn’t my problem anymore.

“If they would have just put the call in, they would have been caught and dealt with in minutes.”

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In an interview with Global News, the Saskatoon Police Service said it is very unlikely that they wouldn’t respond to a situation like this.

“An assault or theft in progress, where there is a suspect either in the premise, or just left the premise, it would be extremely rare that we would not attend immediately,” said Superintendent Cameron McBride.

“We do have very good staffing in the downtown core and so our ability to respond in the moment is not a question or a concern for me.”

Thibodeau said she is tired of acting like a bouncer at her business and is frustrated that Saskatoon police don’t connect her with Alternate Response Officers when she needs them.

The revised hours and thefts have resulted in a loss of revenue for the business, but she said it’s not worth risking the safety of her employees.

“We have to be careful in terms of how we engage with these individuals, keeping in mind that it is not only their behaviour that we are looking at resolving, but it’s also deep-rooted, core issues that are causing them to behave in a way that sometimes startles or alarms the public.”

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The Saskatoon Police Service said a majority of the individuals in the downtown area involved in social disturbance calls often have mental health concerns or are suffering from intoxication from substance use.

McBride said that the public usually expects immediate, harsh action, but that situations like this are analyzed on a case-by-case basis to take into account the challenges that the offending individual may be experiencing.

“To take a heavy-handed approach or a black-and-white approach is not always the best approach – certainly not the best to create a long-term resolution.

“For an individual who may be in Ms. Thibodeau’s establishment, there is a vast array of ways that we can deal with a person in that moment, and it’s based on what they are doing, what harms have been done, what criminal activity has been done before.”

During the daytime, McBride said that the police service predominantly relies on the Alternate Response Officers for downtown police presence, but they only work from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“We are looking at the possibility of expanding that program to include more Alternative Response Officers which would expand their hours as well.”

McBride said that during later hours, other patrols are assigned to the downtown area and there is never an absence of police presence.