Meth a 'driving factor' in sharply rising number of cars fleeing Saskatoon police

The number ofsuspects who drove away from Saskatoon police officers shot up for the second year in a row in 2017.

Last year, 208 people fled from pursuing police, according to a new report filed to the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners.

That's up 40 per cent from 2016, when officers reported 148 "police evade incidents."

"As reported by other agencies, the Saskatoon Police Service believes that methamphetamine is a driving factor in the increase," according to the report.

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While a continued increase, it wasn't as dramatic a jump as the 143 per cent one between 2015, when there were 61 pursuits, and 2016, when the number increased to 148.

New rules

The police service says it hopes new rules from the Saskatchewan Police Commission and new internal training will bring the number of pursuits down in the future.

The new police commission rules place "greater restrictions" on what types of alleged offences should trigger pursuits.

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During the first five months of 2018, Saskatoon police officers recorded 78 pursuits, compared to 88 during the same period in 2017.

About 45per cent of the pursuits in 2017 netted arrests or apprehensions, compared to 58 per cent in 2016.

Fewer stolen cars in 2017

Other car-related stats downshifted last year.

The number of reported stolen cars decreased by seven per cent in 2017 to 1,126.

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Last year the police service began baiting car thieves with vehicles (salvaged from Saskatchewan Government Insurance) that had car keys left in them.

The initiative came as the policed noteda troubling percentage of cars that were stolen because people left their keys in them.

In 2017 there was an 11 per cent decrease in stolen vehicles with keys in them, and over 30 alleged thieves were arrested as a result of the project.