Saskatoon Police Chief Cam McBride said violent crime in the city seems to be slowing down.

“We are following a good trend in violent crime. I know that by the end of 2023, we had about a 10% increase in violent crime. That number slowly goes down over the course of the year,” McBride told The Evan Bray Show last Tuesday.

“Right now, year-on-year, we’re at an increase of about 7.7 percent from 2023 and, while that’s very concerning, that number is improving.”

McBride said crime is also trending down when it comes to property crimes. — which still represents an increase of 6.8 percent compared to the same period last year.

However, when it comes to property crimes, McBride acknowledges hearing stories of a hesitancy to report crimes.

He mentions that without knowing what is happening, it is not easy for the police to react.

“We always encourage community members to continue to report property crimes, even if you think nothing will happen or it won’t do any good,” McBride said. “It really helps inform our operations and deployment. The more we talk about it, the better we can meet the needs.

McBride adds that hearing that people don’t want to report crimes because they think nothing will be done bothers him.

He said over the next year he would look at how SPS could better respond to reports of property crimes.

“One of the things we are struggling with is the current large volume of calls for service, and we are looking to increase our front-line workforce to address some of these concerns,” he said.

“I think another thing is online and phone reporting. So when an individual chooses to report online, — sometimes it takes us a while to come back — and then there is the perception that we don’t care or are not meeting needs. I understand this, I hear it and I want to make a change. We will look to 2025 really wanting to make a difference in this regard.

While McBride said he will continue to review their response times, he also reiterates a call for people to report crimes that may have been committed.

“Reporting it helps us tremendously,” he said. “Even when the community member doesn’t see their contribution, it’s there. »