There hasn’t been a big change in the public’s perception of safety in Saskatoon since a street activity study first began in 2011 but there are a few slight improvements along with a few areas where the feeling of overall safety has decreased.
A report presented to the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners says on average, 85 per cent of those that were surveyed felt safe in public areas.
Board Chair Darlene Brander says 93 per cent of the respondents felt safe during the day in the Broadway area, which is the same as it has been since 2013.
Riversdale has improved from 69 per cent in 2015 to 74 per cent feeling safe and Downtown has seen a decline of 3 per cent and is now at 86 per cent.
The perception of safety at night has improved in Riversdale from 19 per cent in 2015 to 23 per cent this year.
It has remained the same Downtown at 37 per cent and improved by 4 per cent in the Broadway area since 2015, sitting at 60 per cent.
The public’s perception of Community Support Officers and the program’s ability to improve safety has increased in all three Business Improvement Districts.
One of the recommendations from the report was to continue working on ways of building awareness and visibility of the Community support Program.