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By Jaryn Vecchio

Help Needed

P.A. police union believes Sask. Marshall Service has potential to help combat crime in city

Feb 22, 2023 | 5:00 PM

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about the proposed Saskatchewan Marshall’s Service (SMS) with many coming from the Prince Albert Police Association.

SMS union president Nolan Carter spoke to paNOW about the heavy workload Prince Albert officers currently face and how the SMS could help.

What we currently know about the Marshall’s Service is that it will be based out of Prince Albert, consist of around 70 officers, and should be operational by 2026. Carter said more officers in the community is something he fully supports.

“Any extra officers in Prince Albert is absolutely a very good thing. We need to do something to combat being one of the most violent cities in Canada,” Carter said.

There were around 46,000 calls for service in P.A. last year.

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This is a slight increase from 2021, however, assaults were at a five-year high while the nine homicides that happened in 2022 were just under what the city experienced last year and in 2020.

“We are busy 24 hours a day,” added Carter.

The Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) currently has 106 positions.

While adding officers seems like an easy fix, it’s not. All positions are determined by the Prince Albert Board of Commissioners and are funded by the city, provincial government, and Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI).

Since PAPS can’t simply hire more people, Carter believes the SMS could be a huge benefit for the community.

“There’s a very good chance that people from Prince Albert, people from Saskatoon, maybe people as far away as Regina and Moose Jaw will be applying.”

Carter also acknowledged that SMS could attract officers from other cities and police forces in similar situations as P.A. However, he explained his number one priority is improving the safety of people in the Prince Albert area and if people want to work here, he won’t push them away.

“They can be that addition to help our battle against violence and crime.”

The word addition is the keyword in that sentence. Carter acknowledged the SMS is not a solution in itself, but something extra to help combat crime.

In his opinion, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done around mental health, supporting the homeless, and addicts.

“We’re trying to find that solution to become more proactive instead of reactive.”

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow