Estevan RCMP talks staffing situation, showcases latest equipment at town hall

ESTEVAN — The Estevan RCMP detachment hosted a town hall meeting at the Bienfait Weldon School on March 25, with several dozens of people attending.

The informative event offered an update on the local RCMP's activity over the past year and provided details about crime prevention tools and tips.

Estevan RCMP detachment commander Sgt. Steven Ross discussed community policing, ongoing crime prevention and reduction initiatives, the detachment's amalgamation with the Carnduff RCMP, and also addressed questions or concerns people had.

He started off by introducing the current seven members of the detachment, including himself, as well as detachment service assistant Shari Sutter, supervisor Cpl. Srdjan Bunjevac, and general duty Constables Kyle Secord, Adam Himmelspach, Kris McMahon and Sean Hylton.

He also introduced the Estevan Traffic Services members, currently consisting of traffic services supervisor Cpl. Andy Knowles, and Estevan Police Service Constables Craig Bird and Jeff Fry. The unit operates under Regina Traffic Services. The Regional Combined Traffic Services Section includes the RCMP, and Estevan, Weyburn and Regina Police Services.

Ross also talked about the joint work of the Estevan and Carnduff detachments. The two units, along with many others across the country, have been experiencing a shortage of staff. The situation was mitigated through the amalgamation of the two detachments, as well as the hiring of several members lately.

Ross said the Estevan detachment currently has two soft vacancies, one of which is to be filled by a cadet in June, and one member is currently off work. Estevan Traffic Services is three positions short, and the Carnduff detachment has two hard vacancies.

As a result of the amalgamation, Estevan members can respond to calls in the Carnduff area and vice versa, Ross explained.

The amalgamation allows members to balance their vacation time and ensure sufficient resources, but there are still two entities with constables serving in Estevan and Carnduff respectively, and answering a question from the public, Ross said he hasn't heard anything about a potential for the Carnduff detachment to close.

The Estevan detachment's boundaries extend to just beyond Benson to the north; past Willmar, Frobisher and North Portal to the east; approximately 15 kilometres west of Torquay to the west; and to the Canada-U.S. border to the south.

The Carnduff detachment's boundaries are beyond Alida to the north; east of Frobisher to the west; the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border to the east; and the Canada-U.S. border to the south.

"In the newly created Estevan/Carnduff Detachment area there will be two to four members on shift at a time (exceptions: illness, training, vacation)," Ross said. "The combined detachment areas are approximately 3,400 square miles [about 8,800 sq. km.]. The result can be longer response times depending on where members are when calls are received."

Ross noted that when a serious issue occurs, all members from both detachments will respond.

The Estevan RCMP detachment responded to 1,440 calls for service in 2022, 1,521 calls in 2023 and 296 calls as of March 23 this year. Members have also done presentations in schools on several topics, including internet safety, bullying and cyber-bullying, and plan on continuing to work with schools on other topics.

Ross broke down their calls for service by communities for the period from April 1, 2023, through Feb. 29 this year. During that time, they responded to 121 calls for service coming from Lampman, with most incidents being thefts (12), mischiefs or damage to property (11), and crimes against the person (six).

The Estevan RCMP's service was needed in Bienfait 134 times, with mischiefs or damage to property accounting for the most calls with 10, followed by seven thefts and six mental health calls.

Twelve calls for service came from Torquay, many of which (five) were mischiefs or damage to property. Another five calls came from Roche Percee, and 38 were from Macoun with four crimes against the person and four mischiefs/damage to property, as well as three mental health calls among others.

North Portal accounted for 27 calls, led by 20 calls falling under the Customs Act or border-related activities.

While the department had fewer members, they still tried to engage with the communities they serve.

"Members make every effort to participate in community events such as Canada Day, Remembrance Day and various parades," Ross said. "Regular school zone patrols are expected of members when on duty. The goal of this is simply controlling speed and safety through increased police visibility."

He noted that members also consult with and utilize support services whenever an investigation requires.

Other RCMP responsibilities include provincial court/court security on Mondays and special sitting dates; court security for the Estevan detachment's Court of King's Bench matters; and Provincial Traffic Court prosecution on the second and third Wednesdays of every month.

Estevan detachment's prisoners are lodged in EPS cells or the Regina Correctional Centre.

"In 2023 the Estevan RCMP had 44 prisoners lodged. So far to date in 2024, the Estevan RCMP have had 10 prisoners," Ross said.

He also noted that the EPS is currently hiring guards, and the RCMP is actively recruiting new members as well, spending more time and funds in an effort to resolve continuous staffing issues. He also touched on the ride along program, which offers people who are interested in potentially joining the RCMP to have a feel of what the job looks like. He noted the career provides "great salary and benefits, ability to work in your home province and paid training in depot (for six months)."

Ross also spoke about the detachment's priorities, objectives and initiatives. Detachment priorities for a period should reflect and align with the divisional and commanding officer's priorities, he said. The detachment commander also meets and consults with officials in the area and helps create detachment priorities that meet the policing needs to the area.

Local priorities are reassessed every fiscal year starting on April 1, but tend to stay very similar and include visibility, prolific offenders and traffic.

The detachment tries setting realistic and attainable unit objectives. Ross noted that they don't have ticket quotas, but may set some goals for check stops or other specific initiatives.

"After priorities have been identified, specific initiatives are identified which will be used to achieve the objectives," Ross said." Detachment members are consulted in the development of the initiatives as their buy-in is much higher when they have the chance to come up with initiative."

Ross said the Saskatchewan RCMP has identified three important focus areas to achieve their goals, including building relationships and trust, supporting their employees and enhancing and supporting police efforts.

To finish up the presentation he addressed the growing numbers of scams being reported. Ross noted that scammers also become more creative and can be very persistent, trying to get people's money.

"Trust your gut instinct – if it seems the least bit suspect, cease contact," Ross said.

He noted that recent examples of creative scams they encountered include LinkedIn and other online job postings, followed by interviews, training and even working, all leading to people being stripped of their money.

No legitimate business will ever ask for or accept payment via pre-paid credit, Apple or Google Play cards, he underlined.

"Never give banking information over the phone or via email," he reminded. "For online purchasing, choose reputable companies, look for the lock [symbol] on the browser."

Ross encouraged people to report scams to local police, especially if any information or money was exchanged.

He also reminded guests of Crime Stoppers - a resource to report any crime anonymously by calling 1-800-222-8477 or going online at saskcrimestoppers.com. Ross invited the public to join the Saskatchewan Crime Watch Advisory Network, utilized by various agencies to reach out to the public when assistance is required. To sign up for email or phone notifications, people can go to saskcrimewatch.ca.

Another resource mentioned was the Canadian Firearms Centre, which addresses all Firearms Act-related questions over the phone at 1-800-731-4000.

Sgt. McMahon then introduced and demonstrated their new investigative piece of equipment - a remotely-piloted aircraft system, which is essentially a drone.

"This little guy right here, a very small piece of technology, but very useful in the policing world. Just got this two weeks ago, we had one pilot trained right now as myself, and we expect to have more as the program expands. The program is new, started in 2023," McMahon said.

Uses for the RCMP drone include but are not limited to traffic-related investigations; emergency or disaster response; search and rescue; major crime scenes; investigations in areas where no expectations of privacy exists; investigation, when a warrant has been obtained; and inspection of communications infrastructure.

The public had a chance to ask questions afterwards.

Snacks, beverages and more information on various resources were provided.