REGINA - With both the city and provincial budgets being finalized, the Regina Police Service (RPS) says they will greatly benefit from the new funding.
At the Board of Police Commissionaires meeting on Tuesday, RPS deputy chief Trent Stevely was appreciative of the support city council gave the service.
Last week, the RPS' 1.99 per cent mill rate increase for 2025 was approved, which is an additional $6.2 million for this year.
In total, the police service is getting around $122 million from the city. As the RPS is around 17 per cent of the operating budget for 2025, the average homeowner will pay approximately $30 for them this year.
Stevely acknowledged the fiscal restraints for residents, understanding it’s a difficult time for everybody.
Even though the RPS did reduce their mill rate by 0.25 per cent from their original ask, which would have been $800,000 going towards hiring new police, Stevely said they are still aiming to hire 13 officers with other external funding.
Part of that external funding is the additional 100 municipal officers announced for Sask. by the government last week in their budget.
Stevely isn’t sure how much of those 100 officers will go towards their specific police service, but noted there are several challenges with it.
"For the officers we approve and hire, we put them through training. The other part of the funding is only 75 per cent for the salary. So [we] cover the rest [and] there's a bit of a cost [for that]."
While the RPS is seeking new recruits, there also looking at ways to improve efficiency.
This was apparent in their launch of "Community ON: Neighbourhood Watch Reimagined," which is letting residents sign up their cameras on the RPS’s website. This way the police can know who has a camera, and ask if residents are willing to give them footage for an investigation happening in an area.
So far, Stevely said around 125 residents have joined the program, which he said is exciting for the police force.
He referenced Prince Albert’s police own camera watch program, which was revealed last year. Their officers have reported improved efficiency, as they don’t have to knock on every door to see if there is any attainable footage.
As for the RPS, Stevely couldn’t give any answers on if the signed-up cameras have been used so far in solving cases.
Drug overdoses
Saskatchewan’s other major city, Saskatoon, is facing a drug crisis, with recent reports showing nearly 70 overdose cases in one week.
This has led two local libraries to shut down, citing workers safety as the reason.
From his experience, Stevely said this can be caused by a "bad batch" getting onto the streets.
He stressed that the RPS is continuing to keep drugs out of the community's hands.
For Feb. 2025, the police service reported 138 occurrences of drug overdoses, which led to five deaths.
Compared to Feb. 2024, the police saw 280 occurrences of drug overdoses, which led to 12 deaths.
This aligns with the RPS reporting a reduced rate of overdose deaths per year, with 2024 seeing 41 fewer deaths from 2023.
