The Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) unit is comprised of 9 Constables, 1 Corporal, and 1 Sergeant. These members work toward making Saskatchewan Highways and Regina roadways safer for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists through public education, community programs and traffic enforcement.
The CTSS Unit works closely with the RCMP, other Municipal CTSS units, Saskatchewan Highway Patrol, Saskatchewan Government Insurance, the City of Regina Municipal Engineering Department, and the citizens of Regina and surrounding area.
The CTSS unit is funded by the Government of Saskatchewan, and is part of the Protection and Response Team (PRT). Also included in the PRT are the RCMP, Conservation Officers, and Saskatchewan Highway Patrol. The goal of the PRT is to reduce rural crime, make rural roadways safer, and reduce the response time to emergency calls for service outside of urban centers. The CTSS members assist the RCMP and other Municipal Police Services with response to in-progress criminal code and other emergency calls for service, when outside Regina; and perform a similar function when patrolling inside city limits.
The CTSS unit’s mandate is to spend approximately 1/3 of their time in Regina, and the other 2/3s on the highways outside Regina.
Equipment
The unit has five enforcement vehicles. All five vehicles are fully marked and identically equipped with emergency equipment, radar instruments, Automated License Plate Recognition systems (ALPR), roadside breath testing equipment, and laser speed enforcement units.
The vehicles are unique to the RPS fleet as they are the only ones that can access both the RPS and RCMP databases interchangeably. When the CTSS unit is patrolling outside of Regina, they switch over to the RCMP radio and computer systems and operate like any RCMP vehicle would. When inside city limits, they utilize the Regina Police Service radio channels, dispatchers, and computer systems. If you look closely, you might be able to spot the “Combined Traffic” label on the CTSS vehicles.
Safer Roadways
Since the CTSS program was born in 2014, the program has been evolving and more units have been added in planned phases. The RPS CTSS unit came online in early 2018. As a result, fatal and serious injury collisions have been dropping in frequency directly proportional to the increase in units in the CTSS program.
2019 was the lowest year on record for fatalities on Saskatchewan roadways with 71 recorded. The previous record low was in 1951 with 73, and a lot less vehicles on the roads. From 2009 to 2018, the average number of fatalities in Saskatchewan was 140.
The success of the CTSS model in recent years has drawn national attention with several other provinces looking to implement similar programs of their own.
Community Event Assistance
Members of the RPS CTSS can be called upon to assist local RCMP detachments with traffic enforcement, emergency response, and impaired driving detection when there is a community event. This can include events such as rodeos, concerts, long weekends, school graduations, snowmobile rallies and more. The CTSS members also work with the RCMP in providing local authorities from RMs and small town governments assistance in responding to traffic issues within their communities.