Sarauer: Sask. Party spending millions just to shuffle the deck chairs
REGINA – Following the admission from the head of the Saskatchewan Marshals that they have already been poaching officers away from frontline policing to the service, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for Policing and Public Safety Nicole Sarauer echoed calls from rural communities for the need to instead spend that money to hire frontline RCMP officers today.
“This is exactly why RCMP officers have been opposed to this and why they warned the Sask. Party against the Marshals. They’re now admitting that they’re recruiting officers away from rural detachments. The Sask. Party is spending millions just to shuffle the deck chairs,” said Sarauer. “If you’re in Wymark or Oxbow, what good is a so-called rural-focused police force that is stationed five to six hours away?
“The Sask. Party should have listened to frontline RCMP officers and rural municipalities and added more frontline RCMP officers on the ground in local communities.”
Rural crime numbers have continued to rise and have been of increasing concern to local communities, with calls by local municipal councils to increase the number of officers in local RCMP detachments.
The Marshals Service has been opposed by leaders from 89 Saskatchewan communities who have openly expressed concerns about the lack of oversight, integration with existing police and the unknown price tag. It’s believed at least $14 million has been wasted on planning for the Service to date.
“These millions of dollars spent creating this redundant police force could have been spent just hiring more RCMP and municipal officers. The Sask. Party needs to come clean on just how many millions it has wasted on a service that most in policing have been saying is unnecessary and unhelpful.”
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