Alberta municipalities will be able to choose new police agency over RCMP, province says

Making Alberta safer, that’s what the province says they are hoping to do as they take another step towards setting up a new independent police agency.

In a wide ranging announcement on Monday, the UCP government introduced Bill 49 which, if passed, would allow communities to choose the new agency as their police force — while the RCMP remains Alberta’s official service.

Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis says they want to empower local governments to choose their methods of dealing effectively with safety concerns.

“In a regional jurisdiction that might have three or four small villages, does that mean that they share the cost and there is a detachment? Maybe,” says Ellis. “I keep getting complaints from municipalities all over this province about the current service and what they are paying.”

The new force would take over policing duties now performed by Alberta Sheriffs, though officers in the new service would be directly employed by the force.

“Our SCAN team, our Fugitive Apprehension teams, the folks doing the highway patrol, those are policing functions,” says Ellis.

The bill specifies that the new agency would be a Crown corporation with an independent board of directors to oversee its day-to-day operations.

Three years ago, municipal leaders with Alberta Municipalities voted to reject the UCP’s provincial policing model and expressed concerns regarding additional startup and operational costs.

Smith and the UCP have been increasing the power of sheriffs over the last year, recently adding a new fugitive team in Calgary and new surveillance units in rural Alberta. Ellis has previously stated sheriffs need to be ready for more responsibilities in case the RCMP pulls out of contract policing when its deal with Alberta expires in 2032.

The province is also planning to increase the threshold for the use of emergency powers in Alberta in an effort to ensure people’s rights are being protected. The use of such powers will be limited to times when immediate action is required.

The changes would address catalytic converter and scrap metal theft. including a requirement for those buying such metals to record details to improve traceability.