AGREEMENT TO IMPROVE LOCAL POLICING SIGNED

An agreement that will see Saskatchewan elected municipal officials and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police enter into formal working relationships was signed today.

The Framework Agreement for Detachment Advisory Committees is a partnership of Saskatchewan Justice; RCMP; Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) and the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA).

The purpose of Detachment Advisory Committees is to allow elected officials from municipalities to meet regularly with the local RCMP to discuss police service delivery. The committees will develop policing priorities for the whole detachment area, including crime prevention and awareness programs. Six detachment locations have agreed to establish this pilot structure including Esterhazy, Fort Qu'Appelle, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Turtleford and Unity.

"Keeping Saskatchewan individuals and communities safe is a top priority for our government," Justice Minister Frank Quennell said. "We support and encourage communities to work closely with their RCMP detachment to find solutions to effectively reduce crime across the province. Detachment Advisory Committees are a useful tool that will help improve communication and understanding between the police and the communities they serve."

"Working with communities to set policing priorities is fundamental to the community policing philosophy of the RCMP," F-Division Commanding Officer, Assistant Commissioner Darrell McFadyen said. "The RCMP has been consulting with communities for years on policing issues, but this framework offers us a new option. Instead of meeting with each municipality separately, it will provide a formal structure to those elected officials who want to come together to develop policing priorities across the entire detachment area."

"Policing is a vital service in our communities," SUMA president Don Schlosser said. "By regularly bringing together rural and urban leaders with their respective detachment commanders through the Detachment Advisory Committee, the lines of communication will be wide open, and we can ensure that issues will be shared and addressed more effectively. SUMA encourages all communities, urban and rural, large and small, to review the framework and tailor an agreement to fit both their individual and collective needs."

"Through discussions surrounding the Clearing the Path process, our members have become increasingly aware of the need for our municipalities, both rural and urban, to work together to meet the changing needs of their communities," SARM president Neal Hardy said. "The Detachment Advisory Committee approach gives our municipalities an opportunity to better understand the policing needs in their area, and to help target the police resources to meet those needs."

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For More Information, Contact:

Andrew Dinsmore Justice Regina Phone: (306) 787-8606