By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
The Corman Park Police Service (CPPS) and Dalmeny Police Service will receive an extra $130,000 in annual funding through a newly created provincial initiative aimed at supporting rural police services.
The creation of the Small Town and Rural (STAR) Police Services Grant Program was announced on Wednesday, April 8 at a news conference hosted at the RM of Corman Park municipal office.
“Rural policing is different; it’s personal. It’s knowing the back roads, the families, the farms and sometimes the dogs who greet you before the people do,” said Community Safety Minister Michael Weger during the conference.
“This government understands and we want to make sure the people doing this work feel supported and appreciated by the province.”
That’s the motivation behind the creation of the STAR Grant, which will provide rural police services $10,000 per sworn officer starting in 2026-2027.
CPPS is by far the largest beneficiary of this funding with 11 sworn officers, which translates to $110,000. Similarly, Dalmeny will receive $20,000 due to its two officers.
The other recipients of this funding are the Luseland ($10,000), RM of Vanscoy ($30,000) and Wilton Police Services ($20,000).
“This amounts to a total investment of $190,000 in the 2026-2027 fiscal year to support 19 officers serving in five small town and rural police services across the province,” said Weger.
The minister noted that this funding can be used as each police service sees fit, allowing them to respond to what they are seeing in the areas they all serve.
“Whether it is more proactive patrols, supporting officers, or tackling new challenges as communities grow, this investment helps them do what they do best,” he said, noting the rural police services could also bank the money for a larger expenditure.
When asked why this funding is being allocated on a per-officer basis and not allocated from a larger fund through applications, Weger said that the larger a police service is, the more sworn officers they have and the more demands there are for training and up-to-date technology.
He also pointed out that this is ongoing funding and thus something that rural police services can now budget for.
In response to whether rural crime rates had prompted this announcement, Duttchen indicated this was more about the province recognizing that rural police services require more support.
“We just recognize that small town and rural police services need assistance as policing becomes more complex,” he said.
Corman Park Reeve Joe Hargrave said $110,000 in extra funding would go a long way to support the CPPS, who were out the previous night and earlier in the morning amidst the snowy weather making sure their roads were safe.
He also hinted at the fact that the RM would like to grow the CPPS in terms of the number of officers.
“We see the need out there…as our RM grows. Our force needs to grow to help out and maintain that exposure that we have,” he said.
CPPS chief Rob Duttchen said this funding was arriving at a “pivotal moment in our organization’s development,” adding that they will be able to use the money for enhanced training and to improve road safety, which by extension helps prevent crime.
“We recognize that as you engage in traffic enforcement, you deter the ability of criminals to move in and around the province,” Duttchen said.
“When I first met the Minister, he shared with me his vision that Saskatchewan be one of the most difficult provinces in which criminals can operate. That we would set conditions as an enforcement agency to target offenders and make it very difficult for them to move (around).
“This funding will allow us to do that in Corman Park and the other rural police services across Saskatchewan,” he added.
Duttchen noted that when he began policing in 2000, the amount of equipment an officer carried was limited to body armour and whatever could fit on their gun belt.
Nowadays, his officers carry drones, screening devices to detect drug or alcohol use, first aid supplies, external body armour and, of course, firearms.
All of this equipment does require training to use and periodically needs to be replaced, but smaller police services have less wiggle room in their budgets than larger departments.
“Funding like this positions us well to life-cycle our equipment and replace it before it becomes obsolete and an intense burden on our operational budget,” he said.
RM of Corman Park Reeve Joe Hargrave was one of the speakers at the April 8 news conference where the new Small Town and Rural (STAR) police service grant was announced. The new grant provides the Corman Park Police Service and other rural police services with $10,000 per sworn officer in annual funding.
Martensville-Blairmore MLA Jamie Martens acted as MC at the news conference.