(File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

Support for RCMP

Nipawin sends letter to province requesting investment in RCMP officers

Mar 4, 2024 | 10:00 AM

Nipawin Town Council has expressed its support for more RCMP officers.

The town has sent a letter to Premier Scott Moe after a request from the country’s largest police union.

The National Police Federation (NPF) represents about 20,000 RCMP members serving across Canada and around the world. They sent a letter to Mayor Marlon Zacharias and Nipawin Council, asking them to write to the government to support hiring additional RCMP officers across the province ahead of the 2024 provincial budget.

Zacharias told northeastNOW the letter request came after the Saskatchewan government announcement of $20 million earmarked annually for 70 new officers for the Saskatchewan Marshal Service based in Prince Albert.

“The idea is for the same kind of money we could actually hire more RCMP officers to serve not just Prince Albert and that area, but the whole province,” Zacharias explained.

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He said hiring more RCMP officers that could potentially be in Nipawin is a better option going forward.

“By increasing (RCMP) officers across the entire province, we will ideally be in line to have an increase in officers right here in town, and that’s our goal.”

Council unanimously supported the letter to the provincial government, which was sent late last week.

Zacharias said he believes they will hear back from the province at some point.

“Whether or not it’s the answer we’re looking for obviously remains to be seen. You can ask and you can request support and show support but ultimately the provincial government is going to move forward with what they believe is (in) the best interests of the province, not just what a few of the municipalities think.”

Despite that, Zacharias said they will pursue the request and hopefully that will mean an increase in RCMP officers, especially in the Nipawin area.

Like many other communities across the province, Nipawin continues to see property crime as an issue. Zacharias reminded residents to keep their homes and vehicles locked and, if possible, to install home security cameras, which help. Increased lighting in some problem areas has helped in the community, according to Zacharias.

Call volume also partially dictates how many officers an area is assigned, so Zacharias asked residents to call in any suspicious activity or when they see a crime happening.

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @northeastNOW_SK