Last week the Saskatchewan government announced that police services in the province are going to have new ways to help find missing people.

The Missing Persons and Presumption of Death Amendment Act went into effect last week. The act gives police more power when it comes to a missing person investigation where there is no reason to suspect a crime has taken place.

Maria Markatos, senior crown counsel in the Ministry of Justice Legal Services Division, said that this gives police in the province the tools that other jurisdictions already have.

"The changes are based on the uniform law conference of Canada's uniform missing persons act, and similar provisions are in place in six other jurisdictions," she said. "This is an area where uniformity is important to police services across the country and to have the same tools when they are looking for missing persons."

Markatos said that these amendments are going to enhance the police's abilities when it comes to looking for a missing person.

"Before the amendments came into place there was a provision that allowed the police to apply to the court to access for records and the amendments expand those existing provisions."

The amendments now allow police to:

-Obtain a search order where a missing minor or vulnerable person is believed to be in a building
-Access a broader range of records including global positioning tracking records, employment records, and school records
-Access information about a person who might be in the company of a missing minor or vulnerable person
-Make an emergency demand for records where certain criteria are met

Markatos said that these amendments would be used by police when they don't have powers under the criminal code.

"Whether there isn't an existing criminal investigation or no indication that there has been foul play, the person is just missing," she said. "They can apply to the court directly. The act also allows a family member to apply to the court for access to information so if they want access to say a safety deposit box or banking records the family member can apply directly to the court to obtain access to that information."

She added that this act is just another additional support and that police can use to locate that person.