PRT initiative to tackle rural crime marks a year of success stories

Recently, the Government of Saskatchewan is marking the anniversary of the Protection and Response Team (PRT), created one year ago to help reduce crime in rural Saskatchewan.

“Highway patrol officers and conservation officers are providing valuable support to the RCMP and municipal police services,” Minister of Corrections and Policing Christine Tell said in an Aug. 24 statement. “These partnerships are helping to ensure Saskatchewan communities and families are safe.”

“Our government continues to look at innovative ways to address crime in Saskatchewan,” Minister of Justice and Attorney General Don Morgan said. “The PRT has helped increase the presence of law enforcement in communities across our province, and we are thankful to our PRT officers from different backgrounds that have been integral to the first year of this initiative.”

"Protection and Response Team members have assisted the RCMP on several occasions, over the last year, by providing the initial response to in- progress, criminal code calls for service," Assistant Commissioner Curtis Zablocki, Commanding Officer of the RCMP in Saskatchewan said. "Working with our partner agencies is enhancing visibility and increasing capacity to respond to calls for service."

Since the operational launch of the PRT in April, conservation officers and highway patrol officers have responded to more than 400 PRT calls.

Two examples of the work PRT members are doing to keep residents safe include: a Saskatchewan conservation officer located a theft suspect in Kindersley who had fled from a rural property; another conservation officer responded to a call for help from Pinehouse RCMP in a successful highrisk takedown.

The initiative includes Saskatchewan Highway Patrol Officers and Ministry of Environment Conservation Officers, and police officers from the RCMP, Saskatoon Police Service, Prince Albert Police Service, Regina Police Service, Moose Jaw Police Service, Estevan Police Service, and the Weyburn Police Service. The goal of the PRT is to:

• Improve police response to emergency calls for services, including property crimes that are in progress;

• Enhance uniform visibility and presence in rural Saskatchewan;

• Increase the enforcement of drug trafficking on Saskatchewan’s roadways; and

• Enhance the safety of roads by reducing the number of serious collisions and fatalities.

PRT vehicles are equipped with Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs). SGI has funded 136 ALPRs in Saskatchewan, with a total investment of approximately $3.8 million.

Working with our partner agencies is enhancing visibility and increasing capacity to respond to calls for service. Curtis Zablocki, commanding officer, RCMP Saskatchewan