The Government of Saskatchewan provided a contribution of $220,000 through the Municipal Police Grants to fund two existing Weyburn Police Service positions in 2017-18.
“Community safety continues to be a priority for the Government of Saskatchewan,” said Dustin Duncan, Environment Minister and Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA, on behalf of Don Morgan, Justice Minister and Attorney General. “Continued support for targeted policing initiatives in Weyburn is essential for community and public safety.”
The programs supported through the Municipal Police Grants work to improve community safety through the Serious Crime unit. Another important program is the Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan division. The unit works to improve safety on the highways through increased awareness and enforcement of traffic regulations.
“As mayor and the chair of the Weyburn Board of Police Commissioners, we appreciate the funding we receive from the Saskatchewan Government for our police service,” said Mayor Marcel Roy. “This funding assists us in helping to meet public safety expectations for the city. And as policing in the province continues to change and modify to meet demands, I look to further equitable and modified funding and regional structure opportunities with the government to ensure public safety is enhanced.”
“This continuing partnership with the provincial government helps increase our capacity as a police service,” said Marlo Pritchard, Weyburn Chief of Police. “The funding of two police officers assists us in ensuring a high level of public safety is maintained in the City of Weyburn.”
The provincial government provides funds to urban police services across the province to support 128 municipal police positions and policing initiatives. In combination with the Provincial Response Team, this grant fulfills the government’s commitment to supporting the policing services within the province’s municipalities.
Municipal Police Grant funding supports 128 municipal police positions and policing initiatives in communities across Saskatchewan to address key community safety priorities, including: Reducing the victimization and sexual exploitation of children through the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit. ICE members identify victimized children, investigate cases of possession, production, and distribution of child pornography and Internet luring, and help prosecute sexual offenders. ICE includes members from RPS, Saskatoon Police Service (SPS), Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) and the RCMP.
It also includes combatting organized crime and gang activity through the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU). CFSEU’s mandate is to expose, investigate, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute organized crime. It includes members from RPS, SPS, PAPS and the RCMP.
Another included initiative is holding chronic habitual offenders to account through the Serious and Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program (SHOCAP). SHOCAP provides intensive supervision and interagency case planning for designated habitual chronic offenders.
The grant will help reduce the number of persons both in police custody and emergency rooms as a result of mental illness through the Saskatoon Police and Crisis Team (PACT). PACT units made up of one police officer and one mental health worker use their combined expertise and knowledge to stabilize persons experiencing a mental health crisis in the community.
The grant will focus on crime reduction in rural Saskatchewan and reducing the number of serious collisions and fatalities on Saskatchewan roads through the new Provincial Response Team (PRT). The PRT will consist of 258 armed officers who will have arrest and detention powers, and will be comprised of: 120 police officers from RCMP and municipal police services; 60 police positions currently deployed to the Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) Initiative; 30 new police positions; and 30 re-purposed police positions currently funded by the ministry.
