In the throne speech, the provincial government announced the development of a new Saskatchewan Marshals Service (SMS) and expanding the Crime Reduction Team (CRT) and Warrant Enforcement and Suppression Team (WEST).
The SMS will consist of approximately 70 officers.
The Service will have policing authority for law enforcement throughout all of Saskatchewan, conduct proactive investigations, and support RCMP and municipal police operations.
Their duties will include responding to areas with high crime rates, apprehending offenders with outstanding arrest warrants, and investigating farming-related offenses like theft and trespassing.
“We know there are areas in Saskatchewan that need more visible, active policing,” Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell says.
“The SMS will provide that, and work with RCMP and municipal police to strengthen law enforcement across the entire province.”
The Service will be an independent agency that reports to Tell. It’s expected to become operational in 2026, at an annual cost of approximately $20 million.
The provincial government will also be providing approximately $1.6 million annually to implement an expansion to WEST in Prince Albert.
The unit will consist of eight RCMP officers, one analyst and one administrative support position and it’ll become operational in late 2023-24.
WEST targets high-profile offenders who represent a significant threat to public safety, such as gang members and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.
A new CRT unit will be established in the Battlefords region.
It’ll consist of eight officers, one analyst, and one administrative support position.
The government will provide approximately $1.6 million annually to fund the unit, which is expected to be operational in late 2023-24.
The CRT’s mandate is to target street gangs and prolific offenders and respond to urban and rural crime surges.
This expansion makes a total of 10 CRT units across Saskatchewan.
“In total, these new initiatives represent over $23 million in additional annual funding to enhance and expand law enforcement across our province,” Tell said.
“The Marshals Service and the expansions to WEST and CRT build on previous steps we have taken in recent years, such as the development of the Provincial Protective Services Branch and funding for the Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Team, to keep Saskatchewan people and communities safe.”
Official Opposition Corrections and Policing Critic Nicole Sarauer said in a statement, “We know crime is a big concern for many communities across Saskatchewan and that other provinces have already found the implementation of new provincial police forces to be a costly and ineffective solution. This $20 million would be better spent elsewhere.”
She adds that the independence of this course is concerning.
“It is important that policing bodies be independent from government interference and troubling that Scott Moe’s Sask. Party government has failed in the past to take this seriously,” says Sarauer.
She also feels that the competition between the SMS and the RCMP for new recruits would be straining on “already under-resourced detachments”.
