Sask. using $280K of seized crime money to renovate Regina police firing range
CBC
Police officers across Saskatchewan will be able to practise their marksmanship in a modernized gun range thanks to renovations that will be paid for with cash and other property seized from criminals.
The provincial government said Wednesday it will draw more than $280,000 from its criminal property forfeiture fund to overhaul the firing range at Regina Police Service headquarters.
An equal amount will also be provided to the provincial victims’ fund, as required under the Seizure of Criminal Property Act whenever the forfeiture fund is used to finance police operations.
“If we’re able to take some of this money that’s been used for evil and not good, and repurpose it to reduce some of our costs, then I think that that’s a good thing,” acting Regina police chief Lorilee Davies told reporters on Wednesday.
A justice ministry news release said police forces from several communities, including Prince Albert, Estevan, Luseland and File Hills, use the Regina police indoor firing range to train.
Regina police Deputy Chief Trent Stevely said the renovations will improve the “outdated” range to enhance officer training and safety.
“As a matter of fact, there are a number of members in here, including acting chief Davies, that 30 years ago we learned how to shoot a gun in, essentially, the same room,” he said.
Regina police expect the renovations to be complete around the beginning of summer 2026. The work will include improvements to training scenarios and upgrades to help soundproof the walls.
The province’s forfeiture fund holds cash seized in drug busts, or money from sales of property tied to crime, such as vehicles used in drug dealing.
“This removes the financial incentives from the criminal activity by taking away illicit profits and making those profits unavailable for use in future crimes,” said corrections and policing ministry spokesman Michael Weger.
“I think it’s rewarding for the officers when they know that’s how the system works — even more incentive for them to complete the bust, get the conviction, and then eventually they’re going to get to reap the benefits of their hard work."
Weger said money put into the victims’ fund supports crime victims in the justice and law enforcement systems, and within community organizations.
He said a panel of representatives from the justice ministry and victims services receive requests from municipal police and decide how money from the fund will be spent.
The justice ministry said more than $10 million has been spent from the fund since 2009. Examples of past uses include buying a portable light system for the File Hills First Nations Police Service and renovating a Child and Youth Advocacy Centre in Moose Jaw.
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