Regina Police Service hiring 27 new officers with provincial money

Regina police chief Lorilee Davies and Mayor Chad Bachynski praised the $1.7 million provided by the provincial government to put more officers onto the streets of the Queen City.

The $6 million being spread to municipal police services across the province was included in the spring 2025-2026 budget, supporting the government’s promise to hire 100 new officers. Community Safety Minister Michael Weger has been travelling across the province over the last few weeks, holding events in communities that will benefit from the funding. He stopped in Regina on Monday.

Weger said the Government of Saskatchewan recognizes that policing is a municipal responsibility, but it’s an area where the province can help out.

“If we want Regina, in particular, to be a place where people want to move to, raise their families, start a business, we need to know that it needs to be safe,” Weger said. “That’s good for the city of Regina and that’s good for the province of Saskatchewan.”

The money will fund 27 new officers in Regina. Davies said the force currently has 10 recruits in training and recently hired three experienced officers. She said the goal is to get the remainder of the new officers into recruit training later this year.

Davies said the officers will be put on patrol initially, and might later be moved to other more specialized areas.

“Crime is more complex than ever. We are responding to more calls than we ever have, and so we need to increase that resourcing in order to respond effectively,” said Davies.

The funding was included in the police service’s budget documents presented to city council in December. The police force’s $116.1 million request was narrowly passed by councillors. The service’s full budget for 2026 was $131.8 million, but the difference was made up by funding from other sources, like the money from the provincial government.

According to the service’s budget documents, the provincial government was set to fund 32 new officers and two Alternative Response Officers through this and other grants for the current year. The service requested funding for 11 more positions from the city in 2026.

Davies said without the $1.7 million, the police service wouldn’t have been able to add so many new officers.

“We appreciate that, in a time of challenging financial pressures, it’s a give and take, so that fact that we were able to add those additional members to our service through the investment of the province went a long way in front of city council, knowing that they weren’t having to pay directly for those resources,” explained Davies.

Bachynski said the city is very grateful for the province stepping in with some help on the policing front. He said policing is just one component of a safe community and there are many other conversations happening around improving safety.

“There’s a more comprehensive approach that’s required to keep a community safe,” the mayor said.

“We appreciate what we do get, but it’s really about the dialogue and making sure the province is ultimately open to the conversation about what it takes overall for municipalities to address all the needs that are facing us.”

In addition to the money in Regina, the provincial government also recently highlighted $833,000 for community safety in Prince Albert, $714,000 in Moose Jaw, $357,000 in Estevan, $238,000 for Weyburn and $1.85 million in Saskatoon.