Photo courtesy filehillspolice.ca
According to one expert, First Nation-run police forces across the province are not far off.
Dan Bellegarde is the board chairperson of the File Hills First Nation Police Service, which is Saskatchewan’s only First Nation self-administered police force. The service is run by five bands under the File Hills Tribal Council and was originally established in 2002.
Out of the 74 First Nations in the province, these are the only five bands involved in self-administered police service.
“This means there is very little opportunity for our officers to advance in their career,” said Bellegarde.
However, Bellegarde says in his conversations with other First Nations, there is a strong desire to develop and administer police services.
He says the conversation started with their desire to develop a Treaty 4-wide police service.
Bellegarde says once the conversation was open, several other bands began expressing interest. Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Muskoday First Nation and Meadow Lake Cree Nation were among the First Nation communities who expressed interest. Bellegarde says some of these communities are even on the verge of their own police service.
“We are almost there,” said Belledarde. “Our people have got to voice their desire to have self-administered policing and most of our communities are coming out and saying this is an option.”
According to Bellegarde, First Nation-run police services will have a benefit for all of Saskatchewan. Concerns of rural crime have arisen in the province over the past few years, and Bellegarde believes First Nation police services can help address that.
“Urban crime is being extended to the rural areas, in small town Saskatchewan, on farms and in reserves,” said Bellegarde. “So there is an opportunity for First Nations to work with rural municipalities to address these crime issues.”
Bellegarde admits, the File Hills Police Service isn’t without its own issues. Recently, the CBC released an article about funding inequities for First Nations police in northern Ontario. While Bellegarde says they aren’t experiencing the same level of inequities in Saskatchewan, he says they are in need of an infrastructure boost.
He says their police service does not have a proper police headquarters. They are required to travel to neighbouring jurisdictions for certain responsibilities, which Bellegarde says brings an unneeded burden to the staff.
However, there is discussion in File Hills to develop a multi-use facility for community safety. The facility would house the police service along with EMS, fire services and any other organization devoted to community safety.
“That is very much in the work for the future,” said Bellegarde.
In the end, all of this comes down to getting support and funding from all levels of government. Not only is funding a concern, but there would have to be a reworking of federal policing contracts. Right now, the RCMP hold most of the contracts for policing on reserves.
However, Bellegarde is confident these are barriers that can be overcome.
“I think there is an openness from federal and provincial officials,” he said. “The question now is how quickly can we do it?”