How northern Sask. communities plagued by high crime rates are trying to stifle the violence

Horace Ratt drives along the gravel roads of Pelican Narrows, Sask., where hand waves and head nods take the place of traffic lights. The doors and windows of some homes are shuttered with plywood, either under construction or graffiti-marked and vandalized.

Ratt retired a 23-year veteran of the Prince Albert Police Service. He lives in Prince Albert, but has taken up the role of chief administrator for the reserve's proposed community officer program.

He says he wants to be part of the solution to a problem that residents say is pervasive in the community — violence fuelled by drugs, alcohol and gangs.

"I still have family that lives here. They are impacted by the violence as well, so for me it's like I want to do my part," he said.

Pelican Narrows is both a northern village, about 415 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, and a reserve in the surrounding area. About 2,300 people live there, according to the most recent census, most in the reserve.

Like others in Saskatchewan's northern region, people in Pelican Narrows blame gangs, alcohol and drug addiction, particularly crystal meth, for its deepening disorder. 

Saskatchewan's rural north has a police-reported crime rate more than six times higher than the province's rural south, and more than seven times higher than the urban south.

Many, including the RCMP, also blame the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal money that flowed into people's hands for a rise in substance abuse, an issue that's been linked to intergenerational trauma and colonial institutions like residential schools.

Ratt would like to see community officers on the ground to address those issues, a program that's already been set in place elsewhere in the north. Those officers have more authority than a citizen but less than an RCMP officer. They would concentrate on smaller crime — freeing up police to focus on more serious cases. Ratt also wants them to engage with the community.

Paid officers would be trained in a six-week program that covers aspects like self defence and use of force — including using batons, handcuffs and pepper spray as part of their arsenal.

"The main thing is de-escalating any volatile situations," Ratt said.

There are 21 safety officers across seven northern communities, according to Saskatchewan.

Pelican Narrows launched a similar program in 2018 and locals say it helped, but band revenue funding the program dried up leading into the pandemic. It's among the communities looking for provincial and federal financial support to fund their policing program and suspects that without it, internal funding won't last long before the program needs government money.

Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation's chief and council, which oversees Pelican Narrows and seven other northern communities, held a public meeting in Pelican Narrows in late October to hear from residents after declaring a state of emergency earlier in the month in response to escalating crime and a recent murder.