Exploring Criminal Justice in Saskatchewan* Rick Ruddell and Sarah Britto, University of Regina This supplement to Exploring Criminal Justice in Canada provides additional content about crime and the responses of the police, courts, and corrections that is specific to Saskatchewan, including issues related to urban and rural crime and a report card for the province’s justice system. Several noteworthy criminal justice cases that drew international attention are described, including the wrongful conviction of David Milgaard and “starlight tours.” In addition, there is a brief description of executions in Canada that occurred prior to 1976, including a description of the 1885 hangings of the “Cree Eight” in Battleford. Altogether, these cases, events, and information specific to Saskatchewan enable readers to better understand the provincial context that can’t be covered in a textbook that focuses on the entire nation. SASKATCHEWAN: CRIME AT A GLANCE or questioning (Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, 2016, p. 6). The findings of self-report surveys show that most -in One of the biggest challenges confronting the personnel cidents of family violence are never reported to the police. working within criminal and youth justice systems in Sas- katchewan is the high levels of police-reported crime. Saska- 4.0 3.8 3.6 toon and Regina, which account for almost one-half of the 3.5 provincial population, had the highest and second highest 3.2 3.0 Crime Severity Index (CSI) of the largest Canadian cities in 2015 (Allen, 2016). High levels of crime severity are not iso- 2.5 2.0 lated to the cities, and crime in some rural areas and First 2.0 Nations is also very high—as well as in the provincial North 1.5 (Allen & Perreault, 2015). Saskatchewan is also the national 1.5 1.3 1.3 leader in impaired driving and traffic fatalities, topics cov- 1.0 0.9 0.7 ered in Chapter 2 of the text. 0.6 0.5 While Exploring Criminal Justice described the inter- provincial differences in the CSI, Figures 1 through 5 show 0.0 NL PEINSNBQCONMBSKABBC provincial comparisons of homicide, family violence, impaired driving, break and enters, and drug use. A review of FIGURE 1 Provincial Homicide Rates (per 100,000 residents), 2015 these figures shows that Saskatchewan led the nation in inci- Source: Adapted from CANSIM Table 252-0051. dents of homicide, break-and-enter offences, family violence, 700 and impaired driving. Saskatchewan also has the second 575 highest drug use crime rates. Of special interest for the people 600 of Saskatchewan is the relationship between overall rates of 500 violence and family violence. The Chief Public Health Offi- cer of Canada (2016) called family violence a serious public 400 314 issue and reports that more than 200 people are victimized 281 300 261 264 238 249 every day and a woman is killed by a family member every 217 four days. Family violence may account for up to one-quarter 200 184 of all crimes reported to the police, and can contribute to a 111 100 number of other health and social problems (Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers, 2015, p. 43). 0 With respect to family violence, risks of victimization in- NL PEINSNBQCONMBSKABBC crease for women, Indigenous women, people with disabil- FIGURE 2 Provincial Impaired Driving Rate (per 100,000 residents), 2015 ities, and those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans Source: Adapted from CANSIM Table 252-0051. *The ten provincial summaries follow a common template and although the examples presented in this supplement differ from the other nine, some of the content is very similar or will have identical text. Exploring Criminal Justice in Saskatchewan 600 5 years” (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2016, p. 3). On any given day in Saskatchewan about 350 clients who were 487 500 violently victimized by a spouse, ex-spouse, intimate partner, or other family members are served by victim service provid- 400 358 ers (Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers, 2015, p. 97). 314 291 Crime has harmful effects on communities and high 300 266 240 levels of property and violent crime contribute to poverty 216 213 and missed opportunities. For example, an uninsured home- 200 157 155 owner or renter’s home is damaged and possessions stolen 100 in a break and enter. The homeowner has to pay the dam- ages and replace the lost items. What effect will that have on 0 the family’s well-being? In addition to the economic losses, NL PEINSNBQCONMBSKABBC we seldom consider the psychological damages that occur FIGURE 3 Family Violence Victimization Rate (per 100,000 residents), 2014 after being victimized. After being bullied or assaulted, for Source: Adapted from Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (2016). instance, a person’s long-term feelings of safety, self-worth, and confidence can be damaged and this can reduce the indi- 700 vidual’s ability to form meaningful relationships with others. Finding ways to reduce crime is therefore critical to reduce 600 576 the long-term negative impacts on individuals, families, and 500 490 communities. Throughout the nation crime rates in the North are higher 400 325 than in the southern parts of the provinces. Allen and Per- 297 300 273 277 285 reault (2015, p. 8) report that “Among the 50 police services 235 232 that reported the highest Crime Severity Indexes (CSIs) in 183 200 2013, 32 were located in the Provincial North, 8 in the Ter- 100 ritories and 10 in the South.” In Saskatchewan the total and violent CSI for the provincial North is over four times the 0 national average and was the highest in the country. Allen NL PEINSNBQCONMBSKABBC and Perreault report that the total CSI for the southern part of FIGURE 4 Violations of the Controlled and Substances Act (rate per 100,000 Saskatchewan in 2013 was 111.7 while the North was 540. The residents), 2013 pattern for the violent CSI in Saskatchewan was similar: the Source: Adapted from Cotter, Greenland, and Karam (2015). South was 105.5 while the North was 548.8. Table 1 provides a comparison of crime rates per 100,000 900 830 residents for all of Canada and Saskatchewan and reveals 800 that rates of property, violent, and overall crime in Sas- 684 katchewan are the highest in the nation. Allen and Perreault 700 656 643 (2015) also calculated the CSI for all of the provinces and 600 territories, and Saskatchewan also had the highest rates of 485 500 444 total CSI and violent CSI in the nation. Youth make a con- 395 400 343 340 tribution to crime rates and their involvement in crime 288 300 tends to reflect adult crime rates. As a result, in places where 200 adult crime is high, youth crimes follow the same pattern. Allen and Superle (2016) report the rates of youth crimes 100 0 TABLE 1 Crime Rates (per 100,000 residents) in the North and South: NL PEINSNBQCONMBSKABBC Canada and Saskatchewan, 2013 FIGURE 5 Provincial Break and Enter Offences (rate per 100,000 residents), 2015 Total Total Violent Violent Property Property Source: Adapted from CANSIM Table 252-0051. Crime Crime Crime Crime Crime Crime Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate (South) (North) (South) (North) (South) (North) According to the 2014 General Social Survey (GSS) “4 per cent Canada 4,749 10,425 981 2,511 2,984 4,948 of Canadians in the provinces with a current or former (Provinces) spouse or common-law partner reported having been physic- Sask. 9,114 54,978 1,625 11,892 4,962 26,472 ally or sexually abused by their spouse during the preceding Source: Allen and Perreault (2015). 2 Exploring Criminal Justice in Saskatchewan 14,000 13,084 harm (Clairmont & Thomson, 2003). Resolving crime-related conflicts without involving the police can sometimes lead to 12,000 feuds between individuals, families, and entire communities. 10,000 At some point the police become involved in these conflicts, but this is often too late to prevent violence. 8,000 7,798 Chapter 2 in the textbook addresses some specific types 6,020 5,380 of rural crime. During tough economic times rural prop- 6,000 5,030 4,710 erty crime rates can increase as farms and ranches are often 3,459 3,456 4,000 3,295 3,071 unattended and vulnerable to theft. Offences such as stealing 2,000 livestock (rustling), harvested grain, or farm chemicals can be very profitable. It might, for example, only take a half-hour 0 to round up a dozen cattle into a trailer—and those animals NL PEI NS NB QC ON MB SK AB BC might have the same value as a modest new car. No farm FIGURE 6 Youth Crime Rate (per 100,000 residents) by Province, 2014 creature is immune from theft, and a review of newspaper Source: Adapted from Allen and Superle (2016). accounts from 2012 and 2013 found that entire colonies of bees were being stolen throughout Canada (Ruddell, 2017). (persons aged 12 to 18 years) reported to the police in 2014 Even though losses from some bee thefts have exceeded per 100,000 provincial residents, and that information is $50,000, it is doubtful that all of these offences are reported, presented in Figure 6. Saskatchewan has the highest rate of as a farmer’s insurance rarely covers these thefts because reported youth crimes (13,084 per 100,000 residents) and is hives are left unattended. over twice the national average. Although livestock thefts have occurred for thousands of years, technology has increased our ability to appre- hend offenders. For example, a Saskatchewan rancher used CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS DNA evidence to prove that 10 of his cows had been stolen 1.