Sask. RCMP permanently expanding Crime Reduction Team

Saskatchewan RCMP will be permanently expanding its Crime Reduction Team (CRT).

14 full-time members will form two teams in Prince Albert and North Battleford, with plans to be fully established by fall. The RCMP will maintain a temporary CRT in its place in the meantime.

The Ministry of Corrections and Policing is putting $1.6 million towards the program.

“The RCMP has seen great success with this project since they started the CRT as a pilot last February, and we’re happy to support the establishment of these two permanent teams,” Corrections and Policing Minister Christine Tell said. “We look forward to seeing the positive impact this program will have in Saskatchewan’s rural communities.”

READ MORE: 2 facing charges after search by RCMP Crime Reduction Team in North Battleford

The CRT will focus on tackling street-gang activity and chronic offenders, as well as executing arrest warrants and visibility patrols.

The Crime Reduction Team initiative launched as a pilot program earlier this year, focusing on the west-central part of the province, where targeted enforcement measures had been carried out over several months.

READ MORE: RCMP crime reduction team to address safety concerns in Saskatchewan communities

“We have heard directly from our detachments and communities the value of the Crime Reduction Team. The team, made up of members with specialized enforcement and investigation skills, deliver focused, high-intensity policing to communities that need it most. Their efforts have yielded results, taking drugs, firearms and criminals off the streets of our Saskatchewan communities,” Saskatchewan RCMP Commanding Officer A/Commr. Curtis Zablocki said.

Since the program launched in January, it has executed 193 warrants dealing with 384 Criminal Code charges., resulting in charges against 26  known gang members and affiliates.