Alberta provincial police question deserves a referendum, rural municipalities say
"If you're confident that this is a great idea, Albertans are smart people, respect them and let them make the decision and move forward on that."
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The head of a group representing Alberta’s rural municipalities says Premier Danielle Smith should hold a referendum if she wants to go forward with the establishment of a provincial police service.
During her first media availability as premier, Smith said rural policing is a top priority for her government and would like to see provincial police “augment” the RCMP. She said provincial police would be trained to address new policing priorities, like rural property crime fuelled by drug use.
“More than 50 per cent of the calls I’m hearing are mental health and addiction calls and so that will require a different type of training and a different type of officer quite frankly,” Smith said. “We can have the ability to chart a new path by establishing the provincial police.”
But Paul McLauchlin, president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, believes the province should hold a referendum on the issue during the provincial election next spring.
He said the province should engage the public and let their voices be heard. This will provide clarity on whether money and energy should be spent pursuing provincial police instead of addressing issues with the RCMP.
“If you’re confident that this is a great idea, Albertans are smart people, respect them and let them make the decision and move forward on that,” McLauchlin said.
McLauchlin said there are concerns with mental health and addictions-related calls in rural areas, but a way to address that is through early intervention and better access to wraparound services.
“We do have a revolving door in our judicial system, we really need to find a way to help these people,” he said.
“Literally, they get caught and released in the same day, and it’s frustrating for our RCMP. So definitely, those pieces are so important that I think any investment this province wants to make (in) mental health, poverty reduction, early intervention, and then us addressing the judicial system, that will solve crime two years from now and 10 years from now.”
Becca Polak, Smith’s press secretary, did not answer specific questions on what a provincial police service could look like and whether the province would hold a referendum. In a statement, she said Smith is committed to ensuring Albertans feel safe, secure and protected in their communities.
“We must have a police service that is well-managed, properly resourced, and is focused on the safety, mental health, and well being of our citizens,” Polak said.
“While our frontline workers are valued by the citizens they serve, the model where policing priorities are made in Ottawa does not always work for Alberta’s communities and we are committed to ensuring policing priorities are set by Albertans. We continue to meet with Albertans, rural municipalities, and other stakeholders to ensure we have a policing model that addresses their concerns.”
In August, Justice Minister and Solicitor General Tyler Shandro released details about a possible model. It is estimated a transition from the RCMP would cost an initial $366 million and an extra $200 million annually.
The model outlines the creation of up to 85 community detachments and 30 “service hubs” that would have between 48 and 192 officers. The hubs would serve as detachments and homes for specialized teams.
Three urban detachments would serve larger communities and function as regional headquarters.
Mount Royal University criminologist Kelly Sundberg said a provincial police service makes sense as long as it is not a copy of the RCMP.
“We need to rethink policing altogether, how police are selected, educated, trained, equipped, governed, held accountable. All of this has to change,” he said.
“There’s enough public concern to warrant the exploring of a new model, as the government has already indicated they want a new provincial police, why not make it a modern example of policing excellence, as opposed to just using the same model we’ve been doing forever.”
– with files from Kellen Taniguchi
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