SCAN officers will now be able to address nuisance properties without complaints
New powers meant to make neighbourhoods safer, province says
The Government of Saskatchewan is making changes to its Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) Act to try to tackle issues like abandoned buildings, squatters and graffiti.
Under the revised SCAN Act, officers will have the ability to target nuisance properties without waiting for a complaint to be filed. A property could be considered a nuisance due to unsafe living conditions, squatters or excessive vandalism.
SCAN officers still need to apply to the court for rehabilitation or forfeiture orders, and public complaints will still be required to trigger an investigation into illegal activity on private property.
Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod said the changes will help improve community safety.
"The SCAN officers would have the discretion to determine and it doesn't need to be occupied at all. It could pose a risk to the community and we don't want people occupying unsafe properties," he said.
"That's why we've increased the authority of the SCAN officers to step in and not wait until the problem escalates before they are engaged."
The province has committed $2.7 million in the 2025-26 budget to hire additional SCAN officers. They will join existing teams in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert, and will work on addressing nuisance properties provincewide.
McLeod said the move is part of the government's broader public safety initiative. Recent spending includes $11.9 million for 100 new municipal police officers and $2.5 million for the Saskatchewan Police College.
"The SCAN legislation is meant to deal with the properties, but we have legislation to address the public intoxication and to address vandalism," he said. "Enforcement is the issue there and we're making sure that we have an additional strength of police service members to deal with it."