‘It was just time’: Regina deputy police chief to retire

Deputy Chief Dean Rae will retire from the Regina Police Service (RPS) after nearly 34 years of service with the force.

“It was just time. I’ve always said all along that I was going to retire, sometime this coming year. Quite frankly, there was an opportunity, and I decided to explore the opportunity, and it turned out to be successful,” he said. “I’m very comfortable with my decision. We have a great organization here.”

Rae has seen many changes during his time with RPS. When he first started with the force, he remembers having to write the calls for service on a piece of paper.

“(We would) write down where we were dispatched to, and we’d have to hand those in every night,” Rae said. “Very shortly after that, we went to a small computer screen that was about four inches square and had some technology into it, to the point where we have the laptops with a full array of information available to our fingertips.”

In terms of seeing a change in the nature of crimes in Regina, Rae said the violence in the community has changed dramatically.

“It was many years before we encountered firearms on (the) street. For the most part, it was all knives and the old fisticuffs violence that we used to see,” he said. “Today … we see firearms on a daily basis. The nature of drugs in our community have changed dramatically and have gone through a number of different renditions of that over the years. So, there’s been all kinds of change.”

Rae’s last day is Feb. 1, and he says he plans on going on a trip with his wife to get away for a couple of weeks to reset before working on the next chapter of his life.

“It’s been a tremendous career. I have no regrets. I’ve been in so many different areas that have allowed me to excel, allowed me to make decisions that allowed me to grow as a person. And I thank the organization for that.”

Rae was named RPS interim chief of police in July 2023 following the retirement of former Regina police chief Evan Bray. Bray retired end of June 2023 and is now hosting radio.