The Estevan Police Service is seeing an increase in its operations, with a few new positions being filled thanks to a provincial funding initiative. The work's being done as part of the province's $11.9 million Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods commitment to hire approximately 100 new municipal police officers.
Estevan Police Chief Jamie Blunden talks about the benefits that it's bringing to the southeast.
"Back in the fall of 2024, they announced that there was going to be some funding available, and as a result, we were successful in obtaining enough funds for three positions here in Estavan. So we're looking at those positions, and some come to mind."
Currently, there are two individuals who are undergoing training at the Saskatchewan Police College who will be coming to Estevan, with Blunden hoping that a third will be in the program by July.
Where those individuals end up contributing to the EPS could be in a number of different positions.
"We only have one member in our drug unit right now, so we're going to supplement that with another one. So we're probably going to have two officers in that drug unit, and we may add another detective to the criminal investigation unit. Maybe another position for a school resource officer/community resource officer."
Blunden is also looking at mental health supports, with a new member helping to make a second PACT team.
Between mental health, education, and drugs, it's important for the EPS to be able to respond to any situation with the appropriate staffing levels.
Meanwhile, Blunden wants to make sure the frontline officers are in a good spot.
"We also have to look at the front lines and make sure that the members there are supported, and so right now, because of some of our vacancies, they're being stretched in all directions, and we'd certainly like to add to the front lines if we could."
Other areas to add to include the combined traffic services, which work with the provincial RCMP to secure highways around the province.
Blunden says choosing the right positions is critical, as seats can be limited in Saskatchewan.
"Seating is somewhat limited when it comes to the college right now. Originally, 59 officers was the ask throughout Saskatchewan for this July class coming up, class number 91, and the colleges indicated they can only put through 32. So we had to find some areas in which we had to run vacancies, and so they gave us all the numbers. We wanted three for the class in July, we ended up getting two."
Other areas like Regina and Saskatoon asked for around 30 officers and only ended up getting eight or nine, highlighting the disparity between a division's asks and what they receive.
Blunden says, past just getting the funding for new officers, making sure they get trained properly is key to making sure Saskatchewan stays safe.