Recently, the F Division (Saskatchewan) RCMP motorcycle enforcement team was in the city conducting traffic enforcement. This column looks like policing decisions.
Read more: Word on the beat: Supporting units
Drivers in the city were making it easy for them, as officers had no trouble finding traffic offences being committed.
An event such as this spins up social media with people warning others about extra police presence in the city or to voice their support or displeasure with the officer’s actions. Some of the displeasure was directed at our elected officials, which is off the mark. Fact: when these officers come to town, driving improves in the city, reducing risk!
So, here is the information/education piece these columns are intended to provide.
Voice your objections to those who matter if you want to be heard. I would suggest, for the most part, complaints on social media don’t really go anywhere but some posters will get an electronic rub on the back in support of their complains. A ticket being issued means the officer had reasonable and probable grounds to believe an offence was committed and there is a dispute process for that.
Be advised, city administration and elected officials do not direct policing actions, so please do not blame them for getting a traffic ticket. The city got safer for a few days, so how can anyone not support that?
Who can someone blame for laws that they don’t agree with? The answer, the public at large, via our elected officials responsible for the specific law.
Keeping this in mind, whichever level of government created the law, is the one to communicate with about it. If it’s a City of Lloydminster bylaw in question, then a person would go through the proper channels with the city to address it. Generally, the person would either contact an elected official or go through city administration.
If it’s a provincial law, then your provincial process would be the way to go and this would be through your area’s elected MLA. If it’s a federal law, then your elected MP would be the way to address it.
Police utilize laws and authorities created by every level of government. As elected officials represent the public at large, they are responsible for
creating, modifying or repealing laws within their authorities.
Policing agreements and contracts are in place that formalize a police service to act in a specific area to conduct policing activities. Within these agreements, the types of duties to be performed, including traffic safety, are included. These agreements do not direct police as the Lloydminster city council doesn’t direct day-to-day or other enforcement operations. That is up to the police of jurisdiction.
The city is involved in identifying policing priorities and then the local police of jurisdiction set goals and initiatives on those priorities. Traffic is a priority.
Please come out to the next town hall meeting on policing being scheduled for this fall. You can get details on the current priorities and have input on next year’s priorities. It’s much more effective than a social media post.
– Staff Sgt. Jerry Nutbown, is the NCO in charge of the Lloydminster RCMP detachment’s General Investigation Section. Stay tuned for future articles from the Lloydminster RCMP.
This column was originally published in the Oct. 12, 2025, edition of the Meridian Source.
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