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Police forces across Saskatchewan and the provincial Victims’ Fund received $1.1 million thanks to assets seized during criminal investigations.
Saskatchewan’s Civil Forfeiture Program seizes property alleged to be the proceeds of crime “or an instrument of unlawful activity,” and the proceeds are placed in a fund to be distributed to police, victims and community programs around the province.
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A total of $564,000 will go to police agencies around the province along with Search and Rescue Regina, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice said in a news release, while an equal amount will go to the Victims’ Fund to offer support to the victims of crime.
“We are committed to offering support to victims of crime in our province and delivering safer communities and neighbourhoods across Saskatchewan,” Tim McLeod, Saskatchewan’s justice minister, said in the release.
“The criminal property forfeiture process allows us to do that by taking proceeds from criminal activity and putting it to good use through our police agencies and community programs.”
In Moose Jaw, $78,500 of the funding will help with renovations to a Child and Youth Advocacy Centre, which aims to “provide a trauma-informed, child-friendly space in Moose Jaw to support the investigation and prosecution of offences against children.
A further $54,217 was also earmarked for audio, video and recording equipment for the centre, which will be used during interviews with children.
Additionally, $90,627 will be used by the Moose Jaw Police Service to train two new officers for the province’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit, upgrade video recording tools in interview rooms, and purchase Faraday bags – which block wireless signals – “to prevent the loss of evidence” when electronics are seized.
“The Moose Jaw Police Service is delighted to partner with the Saskatchewan government and community partners in applying funding received through civil forfeiture for the enhancement and expansion of our approach in the investigation, care, and support of child and youth victims of abuse in Moose Jaw and surrounding communities,” Rick Johns, the city’s acting police chief, said in a statement.
The Regina Police Service will use $12,500 of the funding for a photocell camera to assist in gathering evidence, while $63,412 will be used to upgrade the “tactical training facility” used by the Saskatchewan Police College, RCMP and other police forces.
In Saskatoon, the city police will use $117,857 to cover costs associated with “a complex major crime investigation” that ended with the recovery of the remains of a deceased victim last summer. While the provincial government did not specify the case in question, the dates provided correspond to the case of Mackenzie Trottier, whose remains were discovered at the city’s landfill in 2024 following a major search effort.
The File Hills First Nation Police Service will receive $35,719 from the forfeiture fund, which will be used to purchase a portable light system and attached generator trailer “to assist with investigations and security at remote crime scenes.”
In Prince Albert, the city’s municipal police force will receive $87,921 to purchase a “wet processing bench,” which allows for ventilated chemical processing when officers are working on fingerprint evidence.
Search and Rescue Regina will also benefit from the funding, with $23,490 earmarked for the agency to purchase a command tent and trailer, in order to set up a mobile command post during searches.
