Saskatoon police chief says drugs fuel rise in thefts

Synthetic drugs are driving rising crime rates in Saskatoon, according to the city’s police chief.
 
Speaking on Gormley Monday morning, Chief Clive Weighill said methamphetamine and fentanyl are creating problems as addicts steal to fund their habits.
 
Unlike other years, he said milder temperatures this winter meant the city didn’t see its customary dip in crime over the colder months.
 
“We are seeing an increase in theft from vehicles, copper wire thefts, theft from construction sites — and it’s mainly attributable to people addicted to methamphetamine or using fentanyl that need the money,” he said.
 
Weighill said he heard similar concerns from police chiefs across Western Canada during meetings last week. He noted that modern synthetic drugs have been displacing things like cocaine and marijuana.  
 
“So people who were experimenting with drugs in the past, they’d use them four or five times and maybe they’d get away from it. But when you’re dealing with things like methamphetamine, four or five times…you become addicted to that drug,” he said.
 
Weighill said police forces across the country are trying to root out organized crime groups that bring in and distribute drugs. He said fentanyl is often produced in labs in China and then moved into Western Canada through Vancouver or Seattle.
 
“It’s the drug trade, and the drug trade is so prolific right now and there is so much money to be made. It seems you knock one group down and there’s another one to take their place right away because there’s so much money in it,” he said.
 
Weighill said credit card fraud has also seen a major increase in Saskatoon over the last two years.