The Weyburn Police Service received a call last Friday about a suspected drug overdose. Officers arrived on the scene, but bystanders administered Naloxone, and the person was conscious.  

The incident gives a stark reminder about the presence of drugs within the community, and Police Chief Jamie Blunden is looking to tackle the issue. To help the WPS, he is developing a strategic plan, which includes a number of measures he would like to see introduced. 

“I want to put everybody on notice, the fact that if you are one of those individuals who partakes in that and decide to buy from some of our local dealers, we will be coming after you,” Blunden explained. “We will be setting up; we know who you are, we have seen it happen.” 

Blunden differentiated the difference between those who are dealing with addiction issues, versus those who are buying illegal drugs for recreational purposes. Part of the strategic plan is to stem the flow of drugs coming into the community for recreational use. 

“Down the road, if you get arrested, we are looking at actually, part of the plan is advertising your name in the paper, as well as locally, so that way your neighbours are going to know who you are,” Blunden stated. Similar practices have been used in other jurisdictions for a number of issues, such as drugs and prostitution. 

The issue of drugs in the community is being attributed as one of the main causes of an increase in other crimes. 

“We’ve seen an increase in some of the property crimes – break-ins into sheds, some mischief and some theft unders have gone up a little bit and that’s all to do with the drugs that are coming into the city,” Blunden pointed out. 

At this time, the strategic plan is still in the works, but Blunden wanted to get the word out about some of the ideas being proposed ahead of time.