Saskatchewan looks to become 3rd Canadian jurisdiction with CALEA accreditation

Saskatchewan protective services are aiming for elite global accreditation to show it meets the highest policing standards. Wayne Mantyka reports.

Saskatchewan’s Provincial Protective Services (PPS) is another step closer to becoming fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

The province announced that PPS had successfully completed its final on-site assessment with CALEA, marking the last major step in the process.

Created in 2022, PPS is comprised of many different enforcement services, including conservation officers, highway patrol members, investigative services, deputy sheriffs and many community-based safety officers.

The assessment required the service to demonstrate how its officers, training, equipment, and operational practices support its mandate to protect people, communities, and infrastructure across the province.

The evaluation also included demonstrations of PPS’s operational capabilities; reviewing the use of its specialized equipment and technology; and the examination of its policies, training programs, and accountability measures.

“I think it just made us a more professional organization, so it just shored up some of things we already thought we were doing right,” highway patrol member Craig Gelsinger explained.

Gelsinger wasn’t alone in his excitement.

“It’s a real big step forward to being recognized and being heard and it’s going to be one more accreditation in our belt,” added Tom Burns, also of highway patrol.

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CALEA is a U.S.-based accreditation authority. It is recognized across North America as a gold standard in public safety. To reach this stage, PPS underwent a multi-phase review, including a virtual assessment earlier this year followed by an intensive on-site evaluation in Regina.

Fewer than one in 18 police forces in North America have been accredited by CALEA - and only two in Canada.

Saskatchewan’s PPS is hoping to become the third -- joining the police forces of Winnipeg and Camrose in sharing that distinction.

“The standards themselves bring accountability to an agency. It is a wonderful leadership and operational guideline,” CALEA President Grayson Robinson told CTV News.

Saskatchewan was the first province in Canada to integrate the various units of PPS under one unified structure. The provincial government said it was looking to improve coordination with law enforcement partners and strengthen the province’s ability to respond to public safety needs.

“I think what it does is it helps us attract people to want to become part of Provincial Protective Services because it is essentially the gold standard,” said Michael Weger, minister of community safety.