Five Riders named all CFLers, prepare for West Final
4h ago
A handful of Saskatchewan Roughriders have been named the CFL's best at their positions. Offensive guard Logan Ferland, ...
The question is being asked of just how many RCMP officers are dedicated to rural areas in Saskatchewan.
That’s because there have been anecdotal stories of crime on the rise there.
Across the province there has been 924 officers allocated, 750 of them are committed to rural areas.
But, the province only pays for the RCMP officers that are currently working, not for vacancies that are filled.
“We are billed for the service provided at different intervals throughout the course of the year,” explained Drew Wilby, with the Ministry of Justice. “The province does not pay for any member who is on sick leave, or is suspended for more than 30 days.”
Wilby can confirm the province isn’t currently paying for that full slate of officers.
“We have folks dedicated to watching that contract, making sure that the dollars and cents are accounted for,” he said.
The province shares the cost of provincial policing with the federal government in a 70-30 split.
It pays on a quarterly basis and annually the bill for 924 officers amounts to $118 million.
When totaling members on the ground in both urban and rural settings, on-reserve, municipal units and national units, the number of RCMP in Saskatchewan is roughly 1,300.