YEAR IN REVIEW: Overdoses, COVID kept Regina police busy in 2021

It was a year filled with a lot of challenges for Regina and its police service.

Chief Evan Bray said police dealt with a record number of homicides in 2021, property crime was on the rise, and drug overdoses continued to see an increase.

“The drug problem in our community has been real and prevalent for a few years now but last year and now this year, I think things have gotten to a whole new level,” Bray said. “We’re well over 1,700 overdoses in our community and approximately 10 per cent of them have been fatal.

“That number is significant and high.”

Bray said there are a lot of different organizations that get called out to deal with overdoses.

“We need to find a way to help people that are suffering with addictions,” Bray said. “Substance use disorders are at the very root of this issue and so we have to find a way, as a community, that we can provide meaningful help to people to get them healthy so that doing drugs isn’t the issue.”

Bray admitted a concerted effort needs to happen to make that occur.

“One thing (police) are doing is making a call for the decriminalization of simple possession with regard to many drugs, understanding that arresting someone and putting them in jail is likely not going to help them with their addiction,” Bray said.

“As an alternative, we’re not taking them to jail but we are taking them and connecting them with people who can provide treatment and, as important to treatment, therapy.”

Bray said he also has concerns over the high homicide rate in Regina in 2021. There have been 15 murders in the city — a record high.

“It is my hope that we can find a way to work on some of these root causes of crime in our community in a way that has a significant impact next year,” Bray said.

“Any sort of crime against a person — robberies, assaults and those types of things — it’s not about stats, it’s more about people. You’re seeing families torn apart and communities in serious despair because of tragic consequences that are happening in our community.”

It was also another year of adjustment as the police service also had to deal with the highs and lows that came with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

“(It was important to be) taking precautions to keep our staff safe — understanding that we need policies in place around mask-wearing in the building, mask-wearing out of the building, all of those personal protective equipment pieces that we need for frontline workers that are responding (to calls),” Bray said.

“We interact with the public, in some cases, differently than others. The fact that we need to interact with people who are often vulnerable and many times aren’t vaccinated is common.”

Bray also noted there were quite a few protests this year, most of them related to public health orders.

“Almost on a weekly basis this year, we’ve seen some form of protest in this city and most of them have been related to COVID. People that are not happy about masks, people who are not happy about vaccinations and finding ways in which they are trying to get some public attention through protests,” Bray said.

“You put all of that together along with the regular work that we do and it’s definitely an extra bit of work and caseload that our officers and frontline officers see on a daily basis.”

Bray said he understands that people were extremely upset to see protests taking place outside of hospitals, schools and the homes of politicians and health officials, but people have the right to be on the sidewalk outside.

“If they were laying down and preventing ambulances from getting sick people into the hospital, that’s a different story,” Bray said. “We didn’t see it to that extent. It was more intimidation of their presence but their presence wasn’t blocking people from getting into the hospital.”

About 97 per cent of Regina Police Service employees are vaccinated and the few who aren’t must show proof of a negative test at the start of every work week.

Bray said he doesn’t believe any officer quit their job over the vaccine requirements at the RPS.

“I know it’s something that some organizations have dealt with, but luckily we haven’t had to deal with that,” Bray said.

But while it was a challenging year, Bray said one of the things he’s most proud of is how the police service has helped the community get back to a feeling of normality during points of 2021.

“We’re a long ways from clear — and maybe we never will be completely clear of this — but I think what you’re seeing is the Exhibition happen in our city (and) Agribition happen,” Bray said.

“(Saskatchewan Roughriders) games, sporting events, children sporting events (and) community gatherings happened in a way that was safer than before. That took into consideration some of those health guidelines and regulations but still allowed us to interact in a way human beings crave and need.

“I am proud of the work that we’ve been able to do in just helping the community get back to whatever this new normal looks like. I think that has been a real positive part of the year and I’m hoping that 2022 is going to allow us to step in that positive direction.”