The restriction of overnight hours in Moose Jaw parks was discussed at Friday’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting.  

Chair Crystal Froese spoke about the motion, which was advanced by City Council to administration for a bylaw proposal at the end of May.  

“It hasn’t been determined hours, and it hasn’t been determined which parks. It’s just to prohibit people in parks after certain hours,” explained Froese to the commissioners.  

“That hasn’t been approved yet by council, but it’s still a good discussion, I think, to have at this level as well,” added Froese.  

Deputy Police Chief Rick Johns explained where police stood regarding the process. “Of course, we’d be happy to engage in any discussions with the City Solicitor’s office with respect to legal reviews and the legalities around that.” 

Commissioner Doug Blanc questioned what would be required of police in terms of patrolling the park and how it would impact their duties.  

Johns said police use a triage system to respond to calls and typically undertake proactive patrol between those calls. “We would be doing that as time permits, but we wouldn’t be able to dedicate resources to [Crescent] Park on an ongoing basis.” 

“It would add another layer of responsibility to the Moose Jaw Police Service, but we would just look at managing that within our current resources and time permitting,” added Johns. 

Commissioner Nicole Swanson spoke about her previous experience with curfews in parks in other places where she’s lived. “If you’ve got it so that it’s closed, and you find someone in there – I mean, you have a reason to question them, because they are trespassing, for lack of a better term.”