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This study uses path analysis to examine data for 304 towns and villages in Saskatchewan for 1971-1986, and assesses: (1) how population size affects change in the elderly population; and (2) how such change influences the diversity of local services and the volume of retail sales. Consistent with central place theory, the gains and losses in the elderly population in small towns are found to be positively related to the relative population size of the towns. In turn, local retail sales and the functional diversity of towns are largely dependent upon change in the elderly population, although the distance from a city and local economic conditions also affect services and retail sales. The study concludes that services and retail business in rural Saskatchewan are largely sustained by the elderly population, the decline of which may signify the demise of the economies of many small towns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the model forms which document Canadian police accountability such as judicial inquiry, community police monitoring groups and consultative liaison panels. He emphasizes the dependency of these models on the police as the source of information. He explains that the current community liaison panels provide the opportunities to challenge the police in public forums for public accountability. He also explains that the existing local crime surveys serve to evaluate potential effectiveness of police accountability for improvement.