Some minor changes are being made to the structure of policing in the city with an officer currently assigned to the Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST) being reassigned to general policing duties.

City council approved the plan at its Jan. 13 regular meeting and will officially be making the request under the Municipal Policing Agreement.

In 2019, the City increased its compliment of officers from 14 to 15 in order to support a newly-created Investigative Support Team, which was tasked with combatting drugs and gang activity in the communities of Dauphin, Winnipegosis and Ste. Rose.

In 2020, the IST evolved into CREST, which is provincially funded and does the same type of work, but on a provincewide basis.

The City continued to fund the CREST position - the only municipality on the hook for funding - after the provincial government indicated that removing City dollars would result in that position being removed from CREST, a reduction the City did not want to see at the time.

“Council at the time said, ‘okay we’ll let it play out and see how it goes, right, wrong or otherwise,’” city manager Sharla Griffiths said. “This council is looking at more of a community policing. We want more boots on the ground in our community. We want to have that 15th officer in our community.”

The move, she said should not affect the service the City receives from the CREST.

“Each district has its own, and when other areas of the province need them, they go," Griffiths said. "So the process should be if Dauphin needs something, they’ll come from other parts of the province.”

The time was right to make the move, Griffiths said, as the city is preparing for the development and implementation of a Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan later this year.