WHEREAS the cost of policing in Saskatchewan is borne in large part by rural and urban municipalities;

WHEREAS over the last number of years police detachments have been closed and moved to bigger centers;

WHEREAS the level of police protection has decreased to near sub-standard levels;

WHEREAS with this sub-standard level of policing the criminal element is on the increase; and 

WHEREAS when calls of criminal activity, mischief or accidents are made, the response time varies from no response to three or more hours;

BE IT RESOLVED that SARM lobby the Provincial Government to either bring the police numbers up to an acceptable level or else remove the policing costs off the backs of the RMs and place it in the hands of the province.

Response from Murray Sawatsky, Executive Director, Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing:

The Resolution requested that police numbers be brought to an acceptable level or else policing costs should be removed from rural municipalities. 

The Government has committed to increasing the number of police officers working in Saskatchewan during its mandate and keeping communities safe remains a top priority of the Government of Saskatchewan. To meet this priority, Ministry officials work closely with the RCMP to ensure all citizens of Saskatchewan continue to receive quality policing. The Government is also committed to enhancing public safety in Saskatchewan. To this end we are committed to increasing police resources in our communities by 120 officers over the government’s four year term. Funding for 90 of these officers has already been provided. The RCMP has also been provided with funding for an additional 22 officers as part of the implementation of the National Back-up Policy. Many of these positions have been allocated to smaller communities throughout the province. 

Although there will always be vacancies in individual detachments due to transfers and medical or other types of long term leave, the number of officers working in rural Saskatchewan is at a level that has not been seen in quite a number of years.