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By paNOW Staff

Impaired driving

Police chief says mandatory breathalyzer ‘not off the table’ for Prince Albert

Jan 7, 2026 | 3:12 PM

Prince Albert Police Chief Patrick Nogier said the city is watching closely as Saskatoon Police roll out mandatory breathalyzer tests at all checkstops, but no decision has been made to adopt the same approach locally.

On Jan. 1, Saskatoon police started administering roadside breathe tests to every driver stopped at a checkstop, regardless of whether impairment is suspected. The Saskatchewan RCMP implemented the practice in 2024. When asked whether Prince Albert would follow suit, Nogier said its one of several tools police services are considering to combat impaired driving.

“I wear two hats. My first is through the Saskatchewan Association Chiefs of Police as the president. We support every initiative to take impaired drivers of the street – hard stop,” Nogier said.

However, wearing his second hat as the local police chief, he said implementation in Prince Albert depends on resources, prioritization of calls and operational realities, adding cost and return on investment always come into question.

“We’ll never take those initiatives off the table,” he said, adding that any sort of timeline for the possibility of implementing mandatory breathalyzers has yet to be determined.

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Nogier said officers are well-trained to determine whether an individual is impaired behind the wheel. In fact, impaired investigations are up and the service has a high conviction rate for those charges. But he added that measuring success can be challenging, questioning whether effectiveness should be judged by the number of impaired drivers removed from the road or by the deterrent effect of police presence and testing.

The discussion comes as Prince Albert Police continue to balance multiple pressures, including staffing challenges. The service lost 11 officers in 2025 — more than 10 per cent of its workforce — largely due to retirements and officers moving to other organizations.

Despite that, Nogier said recruitment efforts have shown progress, with five new hires recently announced. Those recruits are now heading to police college, followed by several months of field training.

“Replacing experience takes close to a year,” he said, calling the transition challenging but healthy for the organization. “The future looks good, and we’re moving in the right direction.”

For now, Nogier’s message to drivers remains clear.

“Don’t take a gamble,” he said. “Whether or not we implement mandatory breath testing, impaired driving enforcement remains a priority in Prince Albert.”

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panews@pattisonmedia.com