The Regina Police Service is offering the following information to clarify the Service’s policy and position on vaccines and COVID-19 testing.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Regina Police Service has been fully engaged in employing strategies to best protect the health and safety of our employees and members of the public who enter our building, or with whom we have direct contact in the community. The day-to-day strategies have been modified over the course of the past 18 months, dependent on factors such as the emergency health orders, but the commitment to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on our workplace, and the community we serve, has been consistent.
Effective October 4th, all employees of the Regina Police Service are required to submit to COVID-19 rapid testing or provide proof of COVID-19 double vaccination. If employees provide proof of vaccination, they may do so, in confidence, to Human Resources. Any employee who chooses to submit to a rapid test must do so at the start of their work week. At this time, we can say almost 90% of our employees, both civilian and sworn, have been fully vaccinated, with two more patrol shifts starting their work week this weekend. The percentage of RPS employees who are fully vaccinated is significantly higher than the percentage of the province’s population who are fully vaccinated.
Other measures in place to keep people safe include:
- Any members of the public entering our Headquarters building are asked the standard COVID questions and required to wear masks.
- All employees in the Headquarters building are required to wear masks in meetings and when moving outside of their immediate work space and around the building.
- Our police officers who have contact with the public in the community have been practicing, and continue to practice, recommended strategies such as distancing, masking, or full PPE, depending on the situation.
The requirement to submit to rapid-testing or submit proof of double-vaccination was a decision by the Regina Police Service Executive Team after consultation with the Regina Police Association. Extensive legal consultation was part of this process to ensure compliance with the law and conformity with other employers across the province. Chief Bray and the Executive Team were also in close communication with other Saskatchewan municipal police services, all members of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, to enhance consistency across the province. In this way, the Regina Police Service was able to develop and enact policy and day-to-day operations to reduce the risks of COVID-19 in the workplace and the community, and to provide a safe environment for employees. The Regina Police Service continues to strongly encourage all employees, contractors, students, volunteers, and members of the community, other than any for whom it is not medically recommended, to obtain vaccinations at their first opportunity.
