MOOSE JAW – Moose Jaw officials are welcoming funding from the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods initiative going towards their front line policing efforts.
Moose Jaw is receiving $714,000 in funding as part of the government’s ongoing commitment, which funds eight police officer positions with the Moose Jaw Police Service.
The announcement was made at Moose Jaw Police headquarters by Lumsden-Morse MLA and Legislative Secretary to the Minister of Community Safety Blaine McLeod, on behalf of Minister of Community Safety Michael Weger. McLeod said that with respect to the police officer positions in Moose Jaw, some are already in place.
“Moose Jaw has been a little ahead of the game,” said McLeod, noting that they already have “three officers already in the pool of municipal officers here in Moose Jaw.” They also have coming four more officers who are already in training at police college, and “so that gets them really close to the amount that they were targeted for the eight officers. So that's a really, really great story. They were good to get the recruitment done and get officers in training right away.”
The government has made a string of SCAN funding announcements for communities that also include Regina, Saskatoon, Estevan, and Weyburn. Another SCAN funding announcement is set to happen this week in Prince Albert.
McLeod said SCAN is a “recognition on the part of provincial government that we need to do more in terms of making sure that the communities and neighbourhoods that people live in are safe. They should be free to go out and have a walk in the park at night and not be worried about being accosted or any criminal activity happening.”
He adds that just putting that number of officers into the field is not going to eliminate all of that, but the “presence of municipal officers in the cities and the communities where they live makes a big, big difference.”
He also adds there was recognition as well that city budgets are “continually challenged in terms of making those commitments to further the police force that they have.” He said the fact that “this is ongoing, stable, into the future funding, that was a big part of our commitment that we wanted to make sure happened.”
Mayor James Murdock welcomed the announcement.
“This investment will allow Moose Jaw Police Service to recruit and retain approximately eight additional frontline officers. For our city this means strengthened frontline capacity, improved response times and a greater ability to respond when residents call for help. More officers on the ground means a direct, meaningful improvements to public safety… this investment recognizes a fundamental truth. Public safety is most effective when decisions and resources are guided at the local level.”
The indication is this should bolster the overall contingent of members of Moose Jaw Police Service to 62.
Moose Jaw Police Chief Rob Davis noted that Moose Jaw is facing similar crime issues as the rest of the province.
“Well, I think it's everywhere. You know, the drugs are obviously a big one across the province,” said Davis. “The distribution and trafficking of fentanyl, it's across the province, across the country. And then that has a ripple effect to the crimes that we're seeing committed to fuel the drug habits and drug addiction. And so this is a great way for us to be visible in the communities, proactively addressing those public safety concerns.”
He said the additional officers will allow the police service to “expand our capacity and to be proactive, and quicker when we have to be reactive. And that will also organizationally allow us to start then building some additional support units within the police service.”
That is the long term, he said. The immediate goal is to get the new recruits through the door, through the police college and added to their front line.
“At this point, we have to focus on the front line. The front line is the bread and butter of policing. The men and women that are out there responding to the calls, they make or break a police service. That's what the public expects to see. That's who they interact with. So that's priority one.”
Davis said that in a perfect world, “we get them in the door right away and into that next class, and that's where I cannot stress enough, we are hiring.”
Davis said if people are interested in making a difference in the community, now is the time, pointing to advantages of Moose Jaw as a place to live. He is making a pitch to people to visit their website and reach out to their recruiters.
“We are aggressively looking right now for men and women that want to make a difference in this community. It's a great city to live. It's affordable. It's an outstanding place to raise a family. And so I would just really want to stress that message to get the message out.”
