NORTH BATTLEFORD — The Saskatchewan Marshals Service is ramping up efforts to target repeat offenders and expand policing partnerships across the province, officials said in North Battleford.
The service was the guest speaker at the Battlefords and District Chamber of Commerce's recent Chamber on Tap event.
The event was held April 30 at the Blend Kitchen and Bar — Riverside location in North Battleford.
Superintendent Tony Nadon and Inspector Joey Lalonde gave guests an update on the Saskatchewan Marshals Service work in the Battlefords and surrounding area.
Nadon said one priority for the Saskatchewan Marshals Service is to assist the RCMP.
"It is obviously to augment the RCMP, help them where they're needed to be assisted," he said. "And in addition, it will be to focus on those prolific offenders with the warrant apprehensions."
The Marshals Service focuses on serious offenders, including those involved in drug- and weapons-related offences.
They also travel to surrounding areas, including Lloydminster.
"We're not 911 response policing, however if the Lloydminster RCMP, if they need assistance in the warrant roundup and have a number of individuals that they need apprehended, we will go and assist and augment their teams in order to arrest those individuals," Nadon said.
He said warrant apprehension is a very important part of policing.
"If you consider individuals that have warrants, they can walk the streets, they can drive vehicles, they can continue to do crime without being detected if no one's actively looking for them," Nadon said.
At the North Battleford headquarters, the Marshals Service currently has five officers on duty. The goal is to increase that number to 19 by the end of 2027.
The Marshals Service aims to have 70 officers in the province by the end of 2027. Currently, it has about 30.
The Marshals Service has also been developing partnerships with First Nations communities.
It signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Red Pheasant Cree Nation in October 2025 to formalize a partnership to enhance community safety and tackle crime on the First Nation.
"We have a lot of other First Nations that are very interested in signing these MOUs to help with all sorts of crime on the First Nations," Nadon said. "For Red Pheasant, we've signed the agreement and we actively go out there and patrol. We actively go out there and assist the band council with concerns that they have. So those are huge strides for policing First Nations, to work together."
