The Battlefords MLA Herb Cox — who headed the Saskatchewan Party Caucus Committee on Crime — and Justice Minister Gord Wyant announced last week the creation of the Protection and Response Team aimed at reducing rural crime.
The biggest problem with the Sask. Party announcement is that it’s largely the old shell game of moving resources around when what’s really needed is new financial resources.
That will come as little comfort to rural residents fearful of both their property and personal safety.
But in times of austerity like the 2017-18 budget where the government is demanding a 3.5-per-cent reduction in government wage costs, no one can be surprised the Sask. Party government doesn’t have the money to do everything it wants.
In fact, one suspects a big reason why Cox’s committee work — completely last March — wasn’t unveiled until now is that cost-cutting 2017-18 budget.
One suspects the past five months or so have been spent trying to find other ways to address rural crime finding low-creative solution. To this end, the Sask. Party deserves some credit.
The new PRT will consist of 258 officers who will now be armed and with arrest and detention authority. That will include 120 RCMP and municipal police officers — 60 police positions now deployed in in the Combined Traffic Safety Services (CTSS) initiative, 30 new police positions and 30 re-purposed police positions funded by the province.
These 120 positions will be integrated with 40 Ministry of Highways Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officers and 98 Ministry of Environment Conservation Officers.
Yes, it does sound like a government moving around pieces to do more with less. But the government stressed that members of this PRT will be receiving more comprehensive training aimed. This aimed at improving response to emergency calls like property crimes in progress, more “uniform visibility and presence in rural Saskatchewan”, increased enforcement of drug trafficking on Saskatchewan roads and enhanced road safety aimed at reducing road collisions and fatalities.
Highway traffic officers will be armed like conservations officers and will be able to respond to calls and requests.
This will be especially important because the PRT will also be focussing on areas of rural crime that have sometimes fallen below the radar.
One such area is cattle theft. Having both conservation and highway patrol officers engaged in this strategy is important.
As Wyant noted, with farms becoming farther apart, it’s increasingly hard for neighbours to look out for neighbours.
Working with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indigenous Nations (FSIN, who were conspicuous by their absence at the announcement) the PRT will also place special emphasis on gang-related.
It is here where last week’s announcement had a healthy dose of reality that’s been much needed.
“Crime is crime, but there are different issues in different areas,” Cox said at the press conference.
The Battlefords MLA was addressing the delicate social issue of crime on First Nations spilling over into neighbour farms and rural Saskatchewan communities.
There can be no doubt that this has been an existing reality. With the aide of FSIN leadership it is important to have such conversations out in the open.
But Cox and Wyant and deputy justice minister Dale McFee were alo quick to add that a large increase in drug use — perhaps in conjunction with a downturn in the oil economy — has been as big an issue with the spike in rural property and violent crime as anything.
The PRT’s special emphasis on rural traffic road safety, visibility and having conservation officers responding to break and enters if they are closest to the scene should help address the rural crime reality.
More money would have been a better response.
But the PRT is a positive response. It is also an eye-opener.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 22 years.
