Questions about opposition marshals service supervision and autonom
The Saskatchewan government has approved how the province’s new police agency will work and what will be most important to the marshals.
Last week, Premier Scott Moe signed an order in council that made the terms and conditions official.
By making changes to laws, the government set up the framework for its new marshals service.The Police Act, 1990 When this year started.The service should be up and running by 2026, and it will cost about $20 million a year.
According to the government order, the marshals are supposed to do the following:
- Criminal activity is mostly found in rural and remote areas. High-visibility, intelligence-led patrols in rural and remote areas are used to find, stop, and discourage criminal activity.
- Follow both provincial and federal laws
- Find and arrest high-risk and repeat offenders who have arrest warrants out for them.
- Do proactive enforcement and investigations of crimes related to farming and agriculture, such as the theft of cattle, crops, metal, farm chemicals, and farm chemicals, as well as trespassing that could damage crops.
- Provide emergency and specialized support or help to the police or other law enforcement in Saskatchewan when asked.
A government minister, not a board, will be in charge of the service
Officials from the ministry will be in charge of the new marshal service and tell them what to do.
According to the government order, the Chief Marshal will have to follow “the general direction of the minister of corrections, policing, and public safety and to act in accordance with the directions of the minister.”The Police Act, 1990 and the regulations.”
Also, “the deputy minister of corrections, policing, and public safety will act in place of a board for the Saskatchewan Marshals Service,” and the deputy minister will “have the same duties and responsibilities as a board responsible for police under the provisions of the Act.”The Police Act, 1990.”
The minister of corrections, police, and public safety, Christine Tell, said on Tuesday that the deputy minister will temporarily take the place of a board.
“He will be put on an interim board until we hire a Chief Marshal. He will be in charge of getting the right equipment and vehicles, making sure the right policies and procedures are in place, and making sure they are right for this kind of service.”
Tell said that in the next few months, the government will hire a Chief Marshal. She also said that she hoped a board would be set up after that, but she did not say when that would happen.The order in council doesn’t say anything about the creation of this board.
Structures of control are questioned by the oppositio
Nicole Sarauer, a member of the opposition who is in charge of corrections, police, and public safety, questioned the new police force’s reporting structure and its independence on Tuesday.
She said, “It’s a big worry.””The worst thing is that the deputy minister will be doing the board’s job. It shows disrespect for the rule of law.”
Sarauer said that this structure is different from how police departments have been run in Canada in the past.
“There is a clear reason why boards oversee police work, and getting rid of them would be a big change from Canadian policing principles.”
Sarauer said that she is worried about politicians being in charge of the police.
“Another worry is whether or not they want more access to the information police already have. All of this is kept separate from political bodies and, in democracies like ours, from the government, and for good reason.
She said that the Opposition will put pressure on the government to make sure that the agency is independent and not influenced by politics.
Even though there were worries, marshal services went ahead
There are worries about the new police force from more than just the NDP. Others have questioned why we need a new service when crime rates have been going down. The union for police officers in Saskatchewan has said that the marshals’ service is “completely unnecessary.”
Minister Tell says that the service is being set up “to provide a higher level of public safety” throughout the province.
She said that marshals will be asked to help with specific problems, like violent repeat offenders with outstanding warrants.
“There are more crimes of trafficking drugs or guns that aren’t supposed to be there. There are more gang-related crimes, and it’s sad that there are also more cases of people being sold as slaves,” she said. “Strategic attention needs to be paid to these areas.”
Marshals will be stationed all over the province, possibly in satellite offices or places where other government workers, like conservation officers, are already based.
“The police of jurisdiction will tell the marshals what to do when they get a call for help,” Tell said. “But that doesn’t mean the marshals can’t come up with their own ideas.”
The order says that the marshals will have authority in Saskatchewan, but “is not the police of jurisdiction for areas policed under the Provincial Police Service Agreement or by established municipal police services.”
Tell said that the marshals will work with the RCMP and that the provincial government wants the Mounties to keep being the main police force in the province.
She said that they will work with existing agencies over the next few years to work out the details of the new agency.
“We’re back to square one here,” she said.