The Saskatchewan government announced in its address to the throne that it would implement two new police initiatives to reduce relapses by high-level offenders.
The Warrant Enforcement and Suppression (WEST) team will focus on warrant enforcement across the province, with the introduction of an Electronic Global Positioning System (EM GPS) that is reducing criminals and helping them reintegrate into the community .
“These two new initiatives represent a significant improvement in the way Saskatchewan enforces arrest warrants and monitors high-profile criminals,” said Christine Tell, Secretary of the Penal Service, Police and Public Security. “These measures combine enforcement and prevention to keep our citizens safe and to prevent high-level criminals from committing further crimes.”
WEST is said to be based in Saskatoon and Meadow Lake and to work with the RCMP and other city police services. The team consists of 10 permanent positions, including eight RCMP police officer positions, a criminal analyst and an administrative support unit.
The main focus of the team is on high-profile offenders whose arrest warrants are pending or who are in breach of the conditions imposed by the courts.
EM GPS will enable officers to monitor and identify perpetrators when they have violated their geographic restrictions. The EM GPS relies on a network of satellites that track and record the location and movements of the person throughout the day.
US $ 370,000 will be invested in EM GPS by the province in 2021-22, and US $ 1.6 million will be invested each subsequent fiscal year. The EM-GPS initiative will receive $ 673,000 in 2021-22 with an ongoing annual cost of $ 1.3 million each year.
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