ESTEVAN — Police chiefs, deputy chiefs, superintendents and inspectors, as well as members of associate groups such as CP Rail police, Public Safety Canada and the provincial Federation of Police Officers, were in Estevan last week, as the Energy City hosted the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police (SACP) semi-annual conference.
The event attracted about 50-60 people.
The sessions were held Oct. 11-12 at the Western Star Hotel, with the SACP executive committee meeting in the evening ahead of the main part of the conference.
Estevan Chief Rich Lowen, who is also the current president of the SACP, said the networking event allowed them to discuss issues that are important for everyone across the province, learn from each other and co-ordinate plans on different issues.
"We had presentations and discussed issues across Saskatchewan," Lowen said.
"We had presentations from various groups, everything from Public Safety Canada, the chief firearms officer and MADD [Mothers Against Drunk Driving] Canada. We had presentations on the Amber Alert working group that we have for the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police.
"We had speakers from the Saskatchewan Federation of Police, Casey Ward was here; from the National Police Federation, Morgan Buckingham was here as well. We had discussions on [different] ongoing issues from everywhere across the province."
Among the topics discussed during the conference were bail reform, an independent review that has taken place in the province, the things that the SACP is working on with the provincial government and more.
"We had discussions on various things across the province. There'd be a large group of people that would present. Some of the issues that we talked about were everything from training to police vehicle insurance rates, victim advocate case reviews and Police Act amendment research. These were some of the highlights," Lowen said.
Lowen also gave the president's remarks and Const. Danielle Stephany with the Estevan Police Service spoke about the Saskatchewan Women in Policing program.
These semi-annual conferences allow for broader networking and better co-ordination. They also help gather positions for the SACP, which are then posted on their website to help co-ordinate their efforts nationwide.
"It's really just a chance for officers to get together and compare concerns from across the province, and to identify common concerns, common issues that we can work on together as a group, like canvassing for the provincial or the federal government. [For example] one of the things that has come up lately, the bail reform, has been supported and backed by the association. And it's really important for us to be on the same page, have those conversations, meet and understand what those concerns are so we can present as a group," Lowen explained.
"We work in conjunction with the CACP [Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police] and other provincial associations from across Canada to stay consistent in law enforcement and present anything that's unique to Saskatchewan, so other people are aware," Lowen explained.
The conference is held at a different location every time. The next one will be held in spring in Saskatoon.
