“Hey, Officer, aren’t you a little far from home?” That’s been the reaction of some Saskatchewan motorists when they see Regina Police Service marked units performing traffic safety enforcement in rural areas and municipalities outside of Regina. Our GPS systems are functioning perfectly, thanks; our travels outside of Regina are part of an integrated approach to traffic safety called Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan, or CTSS.
CTSS isn’t new to the province; with funding from Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), the first phase of this initiative, involving the Ministry of Justice, Saskatoon Police Service and the RCMP, was established, in October of 2014, in the Saskatoon area and the Central Region of the province. A second unit in the Weyburn/Estevan area, was launched in June of 2015. CTSS is designed to target distracted and impaired driving, as well as aggressive driving (excessive speed) in key areas of the province. The creation of these integrated units came as a recommendation from the Saskatchewan Legislature all-party traffic safety report. The CTSS (Central Region) was activated at the same time the laws changed to apply harsher penalties for distracted and impaired driving, and excessive speeding.
The newest phase of Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan is a partnership between the Regina Police Service, Moose Jaw Police Service, Prince Albert Police Service, the RCMP, the Ministry of Justice and SGI. As with the earlier phases of CTSS, the integrated units are comprised of municipal police and RCMP members, enforcing traffic laws on highways in Saskatchewan. The participation of Regina Police Service members will occur in two phases: the first five RPS members of CTSS became operational on March 9th, with an additional five RPS officers to be added in the fall of 2018.
More information on Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (the earlier phases of the provincial program) is contained in the Province of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Justice Annual Report 2016-2017.