Today is the first official day for Saskatchewan’s new Provincial Protective Services Branch or PPS.

The Provincial Protective Services Branch unites conservation, highway patrol, Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Officers, prisoner transport and court security deputy sheriffs, and Wascana Park community safety officers under a single organizational structure.

Including support and administrative staff, the new branch will consist of approximately 450 employees.

Service delivery isn’t expected to change and there are no immediate changes planned to the insignias, logos, or uniforms used by the various enforcement agencies.

The transition to a unified structure is expected to relieve RCMP officers of their prisoner transport responsibilities. These duties will be fully transferred to provincial prisoner transport and court security deputy sheriffs in the PPS Branch, which will allow the RCMP to focus on their core policing mandate.