The Prairie Director of the National Police Federation says the costs for a proposed Saskatchewan Marshals Service don’t add up, and that funding would be better used bolstering the under-funded RCMP. Morgan Buckingham explains that the RCMP polices 99 per cent of the geographical area of the province, and with a growing population, the funding hasn’t kept up.

He says the province has said the cost of the Marshals Service would be $20-million annually, but that wouldn’t include the start up costs including the buildings, vehicles, firearms, and communications systems. The new Marshals Service is expected to employ 70 officers by 2026. The NPF suggests at that same cost over five years, 292 regular members could be hired to deal with the shortfall in officers right now, including 138 to supplement First Nations policing resources and 154 general duty officers.

Buckingham is also concerned about whether there will be issues with another policing entity in the mix with different training standards and different communications systems. It makes it more complicated for the public not knowing who to contact and if responding to a situation, it could mean more risk to police and public safety. The recruiting strategy is another concern. Buckingham says it is aimed at experienced police officers, meaning taking away from municipal police services and the RCMP.