SASKATOON A new type of officer is set to hit Saskatoon streets in the spring. The idea for Alternative Response Officers (AROs) moved forward during a Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. Saskatoon Police Insp. Darren Pringle wrote the report about AROs that was brought to the police board. Pringle said AROs won’t carry a gun and will wear a different uniform than regular constables. The officers will only carry pepper spray and a baton. The Saskatoon Police Service plans to hire four of these special constables. The officers will work day shifts. They’ll focus on community outreach and their duties will be less risky than regular cops, according Pringle.
SASKATOON Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) could have a new category of constable walking the beat this spring to assist in situations that don t require fully armed police officers. With the formalized advent in Saskatoon of tiered policing, a new layer of public servant is created, SPS Insp. Darren Pringle writes in a report heading to the Board of Police Commissioners next week. This new layer, unarmed and possessing a different mandate from armed peers, is more likely to be immune from the discomfort that some community stakeholders feel in the presence of armed police, Pringle said. The Alternative Response Officers (AROs) would be sworn in as special constables and would increase the availability of regular police officers, according to the report.