Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Indian Act
Know Your Rights
Criminal Law
Child Protection
Fair Decision Making
You may interact with different types of police services. All are responsible for protecting life, preserving the peace, assisting victims and investigating crime. Wildlife or conservation officers have specific responsibilities in hunting and fishing.
Types of Police Services
You may meet different police services, depending on where you are living or travelling. If you are in a city, police will usually be from a municipal police service run by the city, like the Saskatoon or Regina Police Service. If you are in a town or another small community, the community may have their own police service or may have hired the RCMP to provide policing services. If you are hunting or fishing, you may interact with wildlife or conservation officers.
If you are on Reserve land, the police you meet will usually be the RCMP, in some cases with Indigenous members provided dedicated services to a community. If you are in Treaty 4 Territory on Okanese, Peepeekisis, Carry the Kettle, Star Blanket or Little Black Bear First Nation, you will interact with the File Hills First Nations Police Service.
Finally, you may also interact with the Saskatchewan Marshals Services, a newly designated police service that supports RCMP, First Nations and municipal police services.
Police Duties
Police duties include:
- protecting life and preventing injury
- protecting property
- preserving the peace
- preventing crimes
- helping victims of crime
- investigating crime
- arresting people who have committed a crime
- charging people who have committed a crime
- testifying in court
In any police or enforcement officer encounter, it is usually best not to get into an argument. If you think an officer has done something wrong, you can make a complaint later. If you are concerned, take down the officer's name and badge number. You can also record your interactions with police or other enforcement officers.
The First Nations and Inuit Policing Program
The First Nations and Inuit Policing Program allows a First Nation to either have the RCMP provide dedicated policing services to the community, with Indigenous officers and focus on community policing, or to establish their own police service, run by the community alone
Today, 45 First Nations in Saskatchewan have signed agreements for dedicated RCMP officers and 5 have their own police service - the File Hills First Nations Police Service, serving Okanese, Peepeekisis, Carry the Kettle, Star Blanket and Little Black Bear First Nations.
Community policing is a type of policing that tries to build relationships and partnerships in a community in order to reduce and prevent crime, instead of just relying on enforcement and charges. Community policing is supposed to be a focus of policing provided under the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program.
The First Nations and Inuit Policing Program has struggled with a lack of funding and long wait times for communities to have dedicated officers.
Prince Albert Grand Council Community Policing
PAGC has recently completed a feasibility study for a First Nations police service serving member First Nations. They are now sharing the study with member First Nations and collecting feedback. A final decision on whether to move forward will be made at the PAGC Annual Assembly. See the full media release here.
