Saskatchewan Marshals Service will not take 9-1-1 calls unless assistance is requested by local police agencies. (Sask. Marshals Service/Facebook)

By Daniel Reech - CKOM News

Policing

Chief of Saskatchewan Marshals Service ‘excited’ for early launch

Dec 29, 2024 | 11:48 AM

The head of Saskatchewan’s newest police force credits good timing and good luck for its early launch.

Chief Marshal Rob Cameron of the Saskatchewan Marshals Service (SMS) told CKOM News on Friday that good fortune and hard work from its team is the key behind the announced summer 2025 launch date, a year earlier than originally planned.

“[The team] is just getting down and getting things done,” Cameron told guest host Taylor MacPherson.

“Working with our partner agencies, working with our partners like the Saskatchewan Police College for example, which have been really excellent to get things aligned and organized and it’s that kind of work that’s really allowed us to get ahead of schedule and we’re pretty excited about that.”

Cameron said building operational support for SMS had gone “extremely well” so far.

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He said the service is in the process of hiring experienced police officers and the provincial election caused a bit of a delay in the process, but now the service is “full steam ahead”.

Saskatchewan Marshals Service Chief Marshal Rob Cameron. (Rob Cameron/Submitted)

Cameron said the goal is to hire experienced officers in the first wave and then bring on new recruits later.

Officers hired with previous experience will have to do seven weeks of training through the Saskatchewan Police College, while new recruits will have to complete 21 weeks of training.

Cameron said the training will serve as a sort of “refresher” for the experienced cops since they would have already previously completed basic police training — though he said they would still be evaluated on whether or not they’re up to the standard set by the college.

“Obviously, we’ll get some experience as the new police service, working with our partners … but also we need to have some of those experienced officers to become field training officers for the new folks that we would bring in,” he said.

“Each piece is contingent on the other piece. So it’s pretty important that we have a bit of time (to) develop our policies and strategies and make sure everything’s working the way we need it to work.”

Cameron estimated that the marshals service would deploy 10-17 officers in summer 2025, and then increase the number throughout the year.

Cameron said the SMS was a “specialized service”, designed to enhance police presence and tackle “high-risk” and “high impact” crimes.

He added that it would look into matters such as drugs, human trafficking, gangs and illegal guns, especially in high crime areas.

Cameron said the SMS can enforce federal and provincial legislation, but likely won’t be attending to 9-1-1 calls unless called upon by another police agency.