During its meeting Monday night, Weyburn City Council approved a request from the Weyburn Police Service to reallocate up to $60,000 from a fund originally intended for the introduction of the Next Generation 911 system, or NG911. The money would then be dedicated to the purchase of new Tasers for officers and the purchase of biometric monitoring equipment.
Making the presentation to the council, Police Chief Brent VanDeSype explained that the need for the equipment was critical, particularly the Tasers. “It's quite emergent that we have it for the next year,” Chief VanDeSype told the councillors. He provided more details on the situation with the conductive energy weapons used by the WPS.
“Right now, we're using the X26 tasers, which were brought out in 2003,” VanDeSype detailed. “They were discontinued sales in 2014, so it’s 11 years past. They provided parts and repairs for those Tasers for a certain length of time, which ended a few years ago. So, we've been operating and keeping those alive with parts and pieces that we got from other municipal agencies.”
The other piece of equipment the Weyburn Police Service is looking to purchase is a suite of biometric sensors for use in the holding cells at the station. Chief VanDeSype explained they monitor the vital signs of a person who may be in the cells, keeping tabs on heart rate, breathing, and motion. The system will then monitor the guards if those vital signs are outside the normal range, allowing for faster intervention.
“Most of the municipal police forces now in Saskatchewan, if not all, actually have them installed,” the police chief said. “So, this is something that’s relatively new, and that’s what it wasn’t on the ask of last year.”
The reallocation of up to $60,000 from the $160,000 originally set aside for the NG911 would see the remaining balance held on to as a carryover for the 2026 budget. This would be the earliest the NG911 system could be brought online, explained the Chief.
Chief VanDeSype fielded questions from the councillors, including queries as to the ability to purchase items in bulk in conjunction with other police services in order to reduce costs. It was explained that with so many police forces already purchasing, or having purchased, biometric monitoring systems, there would be little in the way of an opportunity for cooperation in the purchase to reduce the price. As for the Tasers, it was explained they would likely be delivered in October of this year.
The councillors approved the request for the allocation unanimously.