ESTEVAN — Traffic enforcement, illicit drugs, community engagement and officer well-being and technology are among the key points of a new five-year strategic plan for the Estevan Police Service (EPS).
The document was recently posted to the EPS’s website. Police Chief Jamie Blunden said five years was selected for the length instead of three – the length of the previous document – thanks to ongoing evolutions in technology and other factors.
“It’s going to give us enough … time to get a lot of major issues and projects up and running,” said Blunden.
This year alone, the EPS is looking at a next-generation 911 system, along with an associated computer-automated dispatch. Records management is also going through changes. In the next five years, Blunden said the EPS might have direction from the provincial government to implement body cameras.
“This plan is fairly aggressive when it comes to modernization, and I don’t think three years is enough time to get those programs in place that we’re going to need,” said Blunden.
Traffic and drugs are always at the front, he said, but engagement is new and wellness is a growing point of emphasis.
“The start plan is set up in a way that we can tweak our strategies to reach those goals. Every year, we have a look at it, and our business plan within the police service can change slightly to make sure we’re going to be able to meet our goals,” said Blunden. “So, the five years doesn’t mean the strategies are always going to stay the same. The goals will remain the same.”
For traffic safety, it will emphasize responsible driving through a combination of enforcement and education initiatives, with a particular focus on speeding, distracted driving, and impaired driving by drugs and alcohol. Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan personnel, in collaboration with patrol members, lead road safety education and enforcement efforts.
In terms of illicit drugs, the EPS says the presence of substances such as cocaine, methamphetamines and opioids in the community poses a significant concern for the safety and well-being of residents. The EPS is actively implementing a comprehensive, three-pillar strategy that includes enforcement, intervention and education, and the integration and enhancement of a drug enforcement/intelligence unit along with the Criminal Investigative Unit.
Community engagement will establish a visible and proactive presence through the strategic deployment of foot patrols, a bike unit and front-line patrol vehicles.
“Strategic collaborative partnerships and relationships with businesses and organizations are essential to achieving the goals of reducing crime and disorder while enhancing overall community safety,” the strategic plan states.
It also calls for the return of a community engagement officer position within the EPS, monitor and respond to special events in the city with a focus on the business district, and establish a relationship/partnership with community stakeholders.
The plan also calls for a healthy organization by investing in the well-being of members, both sworn and civilian, by enhancing training and development through maintaining recertification of members, delivering training and education to support the development of leadership competencies, and identifying new courses and training opportunities to ensure operational capability meets the demands of modern policing.
An enhanced workplace health, safety and wellness strategy in the plan has three pillars. The first is continued mental health services via contract with a psychologist to support the mental health of members and their families, along with additional mental health supports. It also calls for implementation of an annual third-party-led review with the members.
The second pillar is to continue programming to support the physical health of members, including the development and implementation of an annual fitness program. And it calls for continued financial programming and services with the enriched academy.
“I don’t think there’s any service out there nowadays that can’t have a wellness program in place,” said Blunden. “Our members are human beings, just like everybody else, and I think we have to pay attention to that.”
The health, safety and wellness strategy is fairly robust, Blunden said, and the EPS wants to pay attention to that.
The plan also calls for an effective and efficient service involving monthly budget reporting, along with technology modernization to improve efficiency. That includes digital evidence management implementation, an assessment for body-worn cameras, and artificial intelligence exploration for data analytics, transcription, investigative techniques and more.
“We do have to have a next-generation 911 up and running by March of 2027,” said Blunden.
Blunden said the plan is a good, collaborative effort between the EPS and the Estevan board of police commissioners, and it takes into consideration the community, members and team. He believes it took about six months to put it together.
“There was a survey that went out to the community several years back. We looked at what they had to say with respect to what they thought the police service should have in place. So, with that in mind, we put together a template from a police perspective when we brought it to the board. And of course, the board, through collaboration and conversation with them, we went back and forth, and ultimately came to the nuts and bolts of what we wanted to see,” said Blunden.
Click here to view the document.
