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In this year’s speech from the throne, the provincial government revealed it’s planning to put together another police organization: The Saskatchewan Marshals Service (SMS).
On Thursday, Christine Tell — Saskatchewan’s corrections, policing and public safety minister — revealed a few more details about how she envisioned it coming together, though she warned a few times that things are still in the early stages.
Tell said the government is hoping for 70 officers when the service is at its full complement, sometime in mid- to late 2026.
“We do envision that it will be fairly experienced police officers. We want people who are somewhat far away from recruit training, so (we’re looking at them) having that real-world experience, whatever that may be,” said Tell.
But several police services in Saskatchewan are also searching for experienced police officers. In August, the Prince Albert Police Service offered a $25,000 hiring bonus to the first four successful, experienced applicants.
Tell believes the marshal service will be able to find those experienced officers because they might be more interested in the targeted, specific kinds of policing the marshals will be doing as opposed to community policing like going into schools and liaising with residents — though Tell said those things are still important.
The minister acknowledged the marshal service could end up pulling officers from regional police and the RCMP.
The province also has the Warrant Enforcement and Suppression Team (WEST) and Crime Reduction Team (CRT), which it’s planning to put more money into. Tell said they could all come together eventually.
“As this evolves, perhaps we can look at those duties that are currently being performed by WEST or CRT to be immersed into the SMS,” said Tell.
The work the SMS is doing won’t necessarily take away from or overlap with the RCMP, according to Tell. She said the Mounties provide general duty policing.
“They go into the schools, they participate at very much more of a community level, and obviously responding to 911 incidences, whatever the case may be. This team (of marshals) is going to be more than that,” said Tell.
“They are here solely to assist and support RCMP or municipal policing services throughout the province.”
The SMS duties could include things like arresting people with outstanding warrants, but also responding to underserved areas to deal with rural crime that isn’t being addressed as it should, like theft and trespassing — though Tell said those crimes will often lead to bigger ones.
“Gang affiliation, et cetera, et cetera — it all leads out,” said Tell.
The service is expected to cost about $20 million a year. Tell said that given the goals of the SMS, the government wouldn’t be able to just give that money to the RCMP and have the Mounties perform these duties.
“Putting it into the RCMP system doesn’t allow for that ability to actually target some of these officers,” said Tell, explaining the province can’t direct RCMP operations.
However, Tell did recently send a letter to the RCMP, saying the province wouldn’t authorize any of the $211 million it pays for policing annually to be used to enforce the forthcoming assault rifle buyback program.
Tell said the RCMP is a very big organization and in order to address the concerns of the province, “we need to ensure that those resources are available in those particular areas, specific to whatever the level or type of crime is occurring.”
‘Better spent elsewhere’
The Saskatchewan NDP doesn’t seem convinced this marshals service is the best investment.
In a statement, Corrections and Policing Critic Nicole Sarauer said crime is a big concern for rural communities, but other provinces have found new provincial police forces to be a “costly and ineffective solution.”
“The $20 million would be better spent elsewhere,” she wrote.
Sarauer said it makes things worse that the marshals service would compete with other police services in the province for recruits.
“This announcement, which amounts to little more than the reshuffling of existing resources, is unlikely to be implemented before 2026 and would certainly not improve community safety in the short or medium term,” said Sarauer.
