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Preparations for a new provincial police force are moving faster than expected, and the Saskatchewan Marshals Service now expects to be up and running next summer, a full year earlier than planned.
The marshals service was first announced in the fall of 2022 as a way to enhance policing around Saskatchewan through law enforcement in high-crime locations around the province, arresting “high-risk and prolific offenders” and by providing assistance to other police forces on challenging investigations.
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The marshals will also have a mandate to investigate crimes specifically related to farming and agriculture, “such as cattle, crop, metal, (and) farm chemical theft, and trespassing that may result in crop damage.”
The new police force will be based in Prince Albert with 70 sworn officers, at an estimated cost of $20 million per year.
“The Saskatchewan Marshals Service (SMS) has made significant progress and is well ahead of schedule,” the organization said in a statement issued on Thursday.
“The SMS is now expected to be operational but the summer of 2025, instead of the earlier projection of mid-2026.”
Since the new service was first announced, the organization has hired Rob Cameron as its chief marshal and has also recruited a deputy chief, a civilian deputy chief, two superintendents and three inspectors. A number of civilian support positions have also been filed, and the service is working to hire officers to fill its ranks.
Chief Marshal Rob Cameron will lead the new Saskatchewan Marshals Service. (Rob Cameron/Submitted)
“The hiring process for experienced police officers (known as the Marshals) is in progress, and it is expected that these individuals will complete additional training in the new year,” the organization noted. “New recruit positions will be advertised in early 2025.”
Cameron said it is important that the marshals service maintains good relationships with other police agencies.
“We will continue to engage with municipal and First Nations communities and other partners so we can best serve the province,” the chief marshal said in a statement.
But while the plans for the new police force has been welcomed by some, it has also generated some controversy in the province.
In August, the leaders of 89 Saskatchewan communities – along with the National Police Federation, the union representing RCMP officers – called for the province to cancel its plans for the service in a letter to Premier Scott Moe.
The letter, spearheaded by the RCMP union, raised concerns with oversight, a lack of integration with existing police forces, and unknown costs.
In the recent provincial election, the Saskatchewan NDP campaigned on a plan to scrap the new service and instead invest the funds into the RCMP.
–with files from The Canadian Press
