Saskatoon police stats show Fairhaven crime not rising, despite lingering fears

After weeks of breathless demands from neighbourhood residents who say a nearby homeless shelter is contributing to a crime wave, police released statistics from the two neighbourhoods at the centre of the controversy.

After weeks of breathless demands from neighbourhood residents who say a nearby homeless shelter is contributing to a crime wave, police released statistics from the two neighbourhoods at the centre of the controversy.

Some residents of the Fairhaven and Confederation Suburban Area neighbourhoods believe crime has significantly increased since the Emergency Wellness Centre came to the area in December 2022.

“We’ve had a number of attempts to forcibly enter the church while we’ve been here,” said Robert Pearce, a pastor at a nearby church.

While some residents echo his concerns, a recent report from Saskatoon police and fire said violent crime in the area has fluctuated for years.

The report comes after city councillor Darren Hill requested crime stats for the two neighbourhoods. The report said violence increased one month before the shelter opened, and a few months afterwards, however, December 2021 and January 2024 show the same number of monthly incidents.

But Pearce said these numbers don’t paint the full picture.

“I think a lot of people have gotten to the point where they just don’t want to report it. There’s nothing the police will do about it, nothing they can do about it, so they just deal with the loss,” he said.