Gaining two positions but losing feet on the street, the City of Moose Jaw is trying to plan for the future as the province makes changes to the way the Moose Jaw Police Service uses officers paid for by the province.

We have three officer positions that we receive funding for right now but they must be used for specific initiatives such as investigating organized crime, working with schools or being a crime analyst.  As the province looks to expand their rural police strategy, they are redeploying officers they fund in cities, to cover those rural areas according to Councillor Brian Swanson.

"What that will mean is that two of the three officers that are currently funded by the province are going to be placed on a team and the province is going to give us an addition two police officers, but those extra two police officers and the two that are going to be redeployed, are going to be splitting their time in the rural area and the city."

To try and fill that gap, the local Police Commission has requested funding for a new police officer.  Council has agreed to use funds from the speed cameras to pay for that position. With about $700,000 in the traffic camera fund that can be used for enhanced public safety, council agreed to use $70,000 to pay for this new officer position.