The Saskatchewan government officially launched the new Provincial Protective Services Branch on Friday. The branch will bring conservation officers, highway patrol officers, Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods officers, prisoner transport and court security deputy sheriffs and Wascana Park community safety officers under one organizational structure. This new branch will have roughly 450 employees across the province, including peace officers as well as support and administrative staff. 

The transition to the new branch is not expected to have any impact on the day-to-day operations of the peace officers in the agencies that are part of the Provincial Protective Services Branch. Additionally, there are no calls at this time for changes to the insignias, logos or uniforms that are currently in use. 

"A tremendous amount of work has gone into unifying these separate agencies into a single organization over the last six months," Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell said. "The transition to the PPS Branch is a major step forward in our ongoing work to ensure the safety and security of Saskatchewan communities and people." 

The long-term plan of the unified structure of the PPS will see RCMP officers no longer responsible for prisoner transport responsibilities, as these will be transferred to provincial prisoner transport and court security deputy sheriffs. The move is to allow the RCMP to focus on their policing mandate.