Chief Patrick Nogier (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Police expansion

New GIS unit in the works with PA Police expansion

Sep 17, 2025 | 4:04 PM

The Prince Albert Police Service is expected to grow next year with the addition of eight officers; four will be added to the patrol division and four will create a new GIS unit.

GIS is the acronym for General Investigative Section, whose officers are tasked with investigations such as hate crimes, armed robberies, serious assaults and car jackings.

“We’re going to train people specifically to look after certain serious crimes that are occurring in the community,” said Chief Patrick Nogier.

“This will give a continued investigative eye that can be carried from day to day.”

It also gives other officers, such as the Proactive Policing Unit, more time to work on their own priorities. PPU officers are frequently re-tasked to do the things the GIS will do. The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) investigates homicides.

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Last fall, the province announced extra policing money, which would allow the city to have most of the funding for up to 17 additional officers.

Just adding people is not that simple however. The province might pay their salaries, but the city faces the cost of providing extra cars, uniforms and safety gear.

Right now, PA Police are training or planning to train 12 officers. Four will fill current vacancies and the other eight will be allocated as described, adding to the current member number of 110.

“We need to be transparent that although we are bolstering our numbers, there will be a small requirement that we increase our financial component here locally,” he said.

Another issue is lack of physical space. Adding eight extra bodies is the absolute maximum that will fit their buildings.

“We’ve evaluated this from many, many different areas. What we have is we feel comfortable, although we would be stretched to the limit, we could still incorporate these eight individuals and not have to go through a significant shift.”

The next step would be a new police headquarters, which Nogier has discussed in the past, suggesting a shared use building with other organizations might be one solution.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com