After four years, a police officer recruitment fund has come to and end.
The program was funded by the federal government and had a budget of $400 million.
Its goal was to hire 2,500 more police officers across Canada.
The Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers is sad to see the recruitment fund go but grateful for what it accomplished.
The organization’s president Evan Bray says it was money well spent that has made a difference.
Bray says the fund gave departments the resources to set up things like anti-gang squads and helped them hire more Aboriginals.
However, he adds it was never designed to be permanent.
“The reality is putting money like that from the federal government toward recruiting, hiring, if it’s not sustainable, if it’s not going to go on in perpetuity forever, then it does eventually become a burden, or at least a challenge for the provinces and municipalities,” he says.
Bray says the federation, and its counterparts across Canada, will be lobbying the Harper government to come up with a new program replace the police officer recruitment fund and he is optimistic the government will come through.
Saskatchewan received about $12 million a year under the old program.