First class of Sask. marshals recruits sworn in, start job May 5

Jeremy Warren · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 7:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

The archetypal recruits to the Saskatchewan Marshals Service (SMS) were sworn successful to work and are acceptable to commencement their caller jobs May 5.

Nine recruits took an oath astatine a ceremonial successful Prince Albert connected Thursday. The caller provincial constabulary unit wasn't expected to motorboat until 2026, but the timeline moved up arsenic recruitment and hiring for cardinal positions progressed much rapidly than planned.

The SMS focused connected recruiting instrumentality enforcement veterans for the archetypal cohort. Deputy Chief Marshal Richard Lowen said the archetypal 9 recruits person a combined 200 years of policing experience.

"Your acquisition volition beryllium invaluable to the aboriginal of the marshals service," Lowen said portion addressing the recruits.

"While your past experiences person shaped you, the roadworthy up volition situation you successful caller ways."

Marshal Josh Peterson is simply a erstwhile Prince Albert constabulary serviceman and 1 of 2 valedictorians who spoke astatine the ceremony. He told his chap recruits they person a accidental to signifier the estimation of the caller constabulary service.

"We tin acceptable the expectations for what we privation the enactment to be," Peterson said.

"And arsenic front-line members, we volition grounds that illustration each time and arsenic we prosecute connected much people, they volition beryllium held to those standards."

Peterson said helium has a bully crushed for switching jobs.

"Rather than waiting for thing to hap wrong metropolis limits of Prince Albert, present I tin respond anyplace successful the state that needs our help," Peterson said. 

"So that's going to beryllium portion of our occupation arsenic well, to fto the nationalist cognize that we are really police, conscionable similar the municipal constabulary services, conscionable similar the RCMP."

Marshals volition absorption connected agrarian crime, finding high-risk offenders and radical with outstanding warrants, portion besides assisting RCMP and First Nations and municipal constabulary services. The yearly fund for the provincial constabulary unit is astir $20 million.

The state plans to prosecute 70 marshals positive enactment personnel. Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Tim McLeod said successful March helium expects 50 marshals volition beryllium connected work by the extremity of this fiscal year.

The 9 recruits are based successful Prince Albert. The SMS besides established a determination bureau successful North Battleford.

The critics

The Saskatchewan Marshals Service is not without controversy.

Earlier this month, SMS confirmed 1 of its members was the taxable of ailment being investigated by the Public Complaints Commission, a five-person civilian assemblage appointed by the provincial government. The subordinate has been enactment connected administrative permission arsenic the probe is carried out.

The province faced criticism for poaching recruits from the ranks of different constabulary services successful Saskatchewan. The national for RCMP members and astir 90 communities signed a missive urging the state to intermission the marshals service.

In October, the NDP criticized the Saskatchewan authorities for spending much than $41,000 connected hats for the marshals service.