In the first six months of 2024, municipal Crime Reduction Teams (CRT) and Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Teams (STRT) removed more than 13,000 combined grams of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl from communities across the province.
The special provincial policing teams also made over 45 human trafficking interventions, connecting victims with supports, laid almost 480 criminal charges, and removed more than $110,000 and 100 firearms from the hands of criminals.
A provincial release stated that Municipal CRTs target street gangs and prolific offenders while responding to urban and rural crime surges as needed, while STRTs investigate the trafficking of drugs, weapons and people.
"Time and time again these specialized policing teams demonstrate the importance of this work, and this funding that helps make that work possible," Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Paul Merriman said in a written statement. "We will continue to invest in these teams, and we look forward to many more successful investigations that are yet to come."
Between September and December 2023, municipal STRTs opened 28 human trafficking files and initiated 61 human trafficking interventions.
In addition to CRT and STRT teams, the Government of Saskatchewan also invested $2.2 million in the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) team in 2024-25. This team consists of investigators from the RCMP, Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert police services with a mandate to investigate crimes involving the abuse and/or exploitation of children on the internet.