Province announces $17 million for municipal police officers, resources

The provincial government has announced  $17.1 in new funding that could eventually see 100 more municipal police officers hired, 14 additional Safer Communities And Neighbourhoods officers (SCAN), and more funding for the Saskatchewan Police College over the next three years.

During an announcement at Saskatoon Police Headquarters, Paul Merriman, Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister said the money will address what he called the growing and changing roles of law enforcement.

“The officers that are out there are doing a great job, but our communities are growing, and the needs are changing from what the officers were dealing with 10 years ago,” he said.

Merriman also explained that the money will be provided to municipalities as officers are hired.

“And that’s why we’re looking at a multi-approach on this,” he said. “We’re looking at the police college because we have to produce more officers, we have to hire more officers within our municipalities, and then within the justice system there has to be process there.”

According to Bronwyn Eyre, Justice Minister, there will also be more money available to help ensure municipal bylaws are not only followed in cities, but in smaller towns and villages. Traffic, animal, and other bylaw infractions can be difficult to enforce in smaller communities because either there are no available courtrooms, bylaws need to be strengthened, or it’s too expensive to maintain officers on a regular basis.

“If we were to bring out a number of pilots (projects), where would the best placements be? And the Kindersley model has been successful because it has integrated… 43 communities,” said Eyre.

Eyre added that work will continue with the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), and the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) on where another hub could be located, so other communities have access to bylaw court.

Cameron McBride, Saskatoon Police Chief, added that the announcement is something his department is also still “unraveling” the information and what it will mean for his department.

“The Saskatoon portion of that investment is up to 37 officers. And so we also know that they need to be front facing, community engaged, officers doing front line policing work,” he said.

That could include working towards additional warrant enforcement and having the increased capacity to arrest more wanted individuals, more front line officers, and the potential for more Alternative Response Officers (AROs) – if that need is identified.