A Prince Albert resident’s proposal for a new public safety pilot was met with encouragement Monday, but councillors said the idea should be connected with community safety work already underway in the city.
Holly Gaudet appeared before the Prince Albert Executive Committee to present a proposed Community High-Risk Subject Analyst pilot program.
Gaudet said the idea is aimed at filling what she sees as a gap between emergency response and early prevention. She told committee the city is facing addiction and mental health pressures, repeat calls involving the same people, and increasing pressure on Police and emergency services.
The issue of repeat calls has surfaced before the city hall, although police have previously clarified that some commonly cited figures relate to high-service users arrested for intoxication, not necessarily prolific criminal offenders.
“The result of that is a system that’s reactive enforcement rather than proactive prevention,” Gaudet said.
Her proposal would create a civilian role focused on identifying high-risk behavioural patterns, tracking concerns across systems, and helping coordinate earlier responses between agencies. The role would not have police authority, but would rely on observation, reporting, risk assessment, and coordination.
Gaudet described the idea as a way to help stop people from cycling through police, outreach, and healthcare systems without anyone seeing the full picture.
“This is the connector for all the pieces,” she told the committee.
Gaudet said the role would be to intervene earlier, before addiction, mental health challenges, or public safety concerns escalate into criminal matters.
“We want to get there early, instead of things happening after and the cycle continuing,” she said. “We want to stop it.”
Gaudet told committee at the start of her presentation that she was dealing with anxiety. She paused several times during the presentation and did not complete all of her prepared remarks before the time limit expired.
Committee members responded by thanking her for bringing the idea forward and encouraging her to continue working on it.
Mayor Bill Powalinsky asked whether Gaudet had spoken with the city’s Community Safety and Well-Being work before presenting the proposal. Gaudet said she had not, and that the idea was still at the concept stage.
Powalinsky said the city already has several initiatives underway, including work connected to Community Safety and Well-Being, a mobile complex needs team, mobile crisis case management, the police and crisis team, community outreach work, and the future complex needs facility.
The city’s Community Safety and Well Being work has also been moving toward what Dinsdale previously described as longer-term prevention. During a September presentation to CFUW Prince Albert covered by the Daily Herald, Dinsdale said the city was trying to keep residents from cycling through shelters, police cells, and emergency rooms, while looking at upstream interventions such as youth cultural and ceremonial spaces, housing access, transportation, and data collection.
Powalinsky said the city has to be careful not to create parallel services that duplicate existing efforts.
“We certainly want to avoid parallel initiatives,” Powalinsky said. “We don’t want people out there tripping over each other.”
Powalinsky said Gaudet’s energy and concern for the issue were appreciated, but suggested she consult with existing community stakeholders and look for ways her idea could fit into work already happening.
Coun. Troy Parenteau also encouraged Gaudet to reach out to Anna Dinsdale. He said some of the work Gaudet described is already being discussed through city-led tables focused on issues such as homelessness and addictions.
“I think you have a powerful voice, and I think you have some great vision,” Parenteau said. “I think you’d be an amazing asset to our city.”
Parenteau also praised Gaudet for presenting despite her anxiety.
Coun. Tony Head said he heard Gaudet’s desire to make a difference in the city, but said the concept needs more work with existing community groups and programs.
“What I do hear from you is that you’re seeing it’s not enough,” Head said. “I want to make changes in my city. What can I do?”
Deputy Mayor Bryce Laewetz also thanked Gaudet for coming forward and said every idea is worth exploring.
Executive Committee voted unanimously to receive Gaudet’s correspondence and refer it to the Community Development Department, where councillors encouraged her to connect with existing community safety work.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
