Province Hires 30 More Police Officers

Province Hires 30 More Police Officers

Monday, April 04, 2011 at 15:19

The province says it is fulfilling its promise to hire 120 police officers over four years by providing money in the recent budget for 30 more.

Saskatchewan’s Corrections, Public Safety and Policing Minister Yogi Huyghebaert made the announcement this morning.

Huyghebaert says he will work with police leaders on the where the police are most needed, including the north.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Russ Mirasty says communities like La Loche could use more officers.

Since the 2008-09 budget, officers have been deployed to the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, the Internet Child Exploitation Unit, and the Northern Drug and Gang Enforcement Unit.

Since then, the ICE unit has laid 194 charges against 71 individuals and has been involved in more than 400 internet related investigations involving abused children.

In the last two years, officers from the CFSEU and the Northern Drug and Gang Enforcement Unit have made several significant seizures of cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana. Cash and assets from organized criminal enterprises have also been seized.