Nicole Sarauer, shadow minister of policing and public safety, said the Marshals Service is an inefficient use of resources. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

By Daniel Reech - CKOM News

Politics

NDP concerned Marshals Service ‘poaching’ from existing police forces

Dec 15, 2024 | 1:46 PM

The Saskatchewan NDP is reiterating its concerns about the Saskatchewan Marshals Service (SMS), which is scheduled to launch earlier than expected.

The province’s newest police force is expected to be up and running next summer.

While recruiting has begun to fill the 70 new policing positions, the NDP says the Marshals Service is recruiting from many currently existing police forces — which isn’t actually increasing the number of officers patrolling the province.

“It adds to the concern that we’ve always had — that this is money that would be better spent bolstering already existing police forces in the province,” said Nicole Sarauer, shadow minister of policing and public safety.

“If we’re just shuffling a group of police officers from one type of policing body to another type of policing body in Saskatchewan, it doesn’t actually address the concerns that people have about crime in this province.”

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The provincial government said that around 17 sworn SMS officers will be deployed by the second quarter of 2025.

In a written statement to 980 CJME, Tim McLeod, Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, said the province was also investing in the RCMP, municipal and First Nations’ police services.

“We take public safety very seriously and the Saskatchewan Marshals Service will be an important addition to the overall complement of officers in Saskatchewan that are working to keep our communities safe,” the statement said.

McLeod said recruitment for the SMS is just one part of the announcement of 500 additional officers including:

• 100 new municipal officers
• 192 RCMP officers since 2011
• 180 new RCMP officers
• 70 new officers through the Saskatchewan Marshals Service
  Tim McLeod, Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety said the government has been transparent with the cost of the SMS. (980 CJME files)

Sarauer questioned the cost and transparency of the service.

While the NDP claimed that $14 million had been spent on planning the service, McLeod said the SMS has only cost the province $5.6 million to date. The announced annual cost of operation for the SMS is $20 million.

“The Opposition’s very first written question of this session was a question on costs associated with the Saskatchewan Marshals Service,” McLeod said.

“Our government tabled detailed responses to their questions on Dec. 9, 2024.”

The SMS was first proposed in 2022.

Former RCMP veteran Rob Cameron has been selected as the SMS’s chief marshal. He has previously said that the organization will have a “unique style” of policing, with a focus on rural and remote area crime.

Sarauer said more resources should go towards existing police detachments to deal with these issues and said numerous communities have echoed similar concerns.

She also said that the province had done an inadequate job at addressing the underlying causes for crime, such as addiction, mental health and homelessness.

“In this province, we have jails that are overcrowded and a court system that’s moving too slow,” Sarauer said.

“We see bed spaces being promised but not actually being opened to address some of these issues. I’d like to see them moving a little bit faster and getting those bed space opened and maybe making announcements about (that) rather than moving quickly on the Marshals.”

In August, leaders of 89 communities in Saskatchewan signed a letter urging Premier Scott Moe to pause plans for the SMS.

In October, the National Police Federation, the union representing RCMP officers, released the findings of a study it conducted saying three-quarters of people surveyed felt there were more important priorities for the province to deal with than creating the Marshals Service.