Number of Saskatoon police pursuits went into overdrive in 2016

Police in Saskatoon found themselves chasing far more suspected criminals in 2016compared to the year before.

According to new data released in a report going before the Board of Police CommissionersWednesday,there were 148 police pursuits in 2016 a far cry from the 61police chases the year before.

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That's also considerably higher than any year since 2008.

Spike in stolen vehicles

The majority of police chases last year involved stolen vehicles. Police reported a21-per-cent increase in such cases in 2016, with the report citinga direct correlation between the stolen cars and people trying to flee from police.

The chases themselves resulted in 79 arrests and led to at least 10 suspects being injured.

There were also 64 vehicles damagedduring the police chases. Seven police cars were hit and so were 16 civilian vehicles.

More chases, more 'use of force'

The spike in the number of police chases wasa major factor in an overall increase in Saskatoon police's "use of force" data for 2016.

A related report, also going before the Board of Police Commissioners Wednesday,suggests 45 per cent of all cases where an officer used force were actually police pursuits.

But there were some other spikes as well.

Police fired their guns eight times in 2016 more than the previous two years combined.

Officers also pointed their weapons more than the year previous and used far more physical strikes and takedowns.

More injured suspects

Police say 101 suspects were injured last year and one of those suspects died.

That number is also up from 2015 whenonly 60 suspects were injured and there were no deaths.

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The report suggests that police are dealing with more "confrontational" and "physically assaultive" suspects.

That may be partially explained, the report suggests, by increased levels of "substance abuse and intoxication" among suspects.