An RCMP cruiser sits near the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway at Dunmore in this February 2022 file Photo. Municipalities in Alberta are now determining how to take part in local and regional policing committees created by the province.--New File Photo
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Municipalities in the southeast are still considering how they will fit into new committee systems set up by the province to engage RCMP on local and regional policing.
The Alberta Ministry of Public Safety also says a deadline of March 1 might pass before towns decide on their representation and the system is in place.
Last fall, the Alberta government announced several new bodies to address rural crime concerns and formalize feedback from local governments which use the Alberta branch of the federal police force.
That includes Brooks, Redcliff, Bow Island and all areas outside cities that have their own municipal police force, though elected officials in the region are suggesting they will set up local policing committees rather than be lumped into larger area committees.
The Town of Redcliff took up the issue Monday and will now likely miss a March 1 deadline to have bylaws in place for the change.
“The flavour of the discussion was that unless there is someone close who may want to partner, we’ll likely go independent,” said Redcliff Mayor Dwight Kilpatrick.
“If it comes down to being on a committee with other (locations) that are a far distance away, we’d go it alone.”
Kilpatrick also said he’s not sure what would be different going forward under the new system, and if it is to provide local feedback, a local committee seems a better focus.
Currently, the commander of the Redcliff detachment meets with council once per year to discuss priority areas, then reports quarterly on issues and presents the latest statistics and trends.
“Creation of these new civilian governance bodies responds to a longstanding desire of communities to have more say in how they are policed by the RCMP,” reads an information handout from the province to 275 municipalities in late 2024.
Changes would require smaller communities to join a regional policing committee in one of four large zones in the province, or be allowed to opt out if they create a localized “Municipal Policing Committee.”
Redcliff administrators told town council that despite the approaching March 1 deadline, few other locations have a set direction in place.
Town councillors tabled the issue until Feb. 24, at which time they could begin the legislative process of forming a police committee, but couldn’t finish before late March, owing to bylaw voting procedure.
Alberta Public Safety expects 25 to 30 municipal policing committees to form across the province.
“Alberta’s government continues to provide support for communities as they work to implement their civilian police governance bodies,” reads a statement from ministry official Arthur Green.
“We recognize some communities may need more time to determine the best approach and to develop and pass a bylaw (creating the committee).”
If Redcliff decides against a local option, it would automatically join a south zone policing committee that would include representatives from Drumheller and Brooks, but also Banff, Coaldale, Diamond Valley, Didsbury, High River, Innisfail, Langdon, Olds and Strathmore.
Elected officials in Brooks are also weighing the options, but have applied for required ministerial approval to create a Brooks municipal policing committee, and forego taking part in the regional body.
Brooks officials said Tuesday that council members took up the issue last month and are awaiting further information before making a final decision,
“We’re in the process of drafting a bylaw for a policing committee,” reads a statement from city administration.
A municipal council would also be responsible for costs and selection process for members of a local board.
Redcliff had its own police force until 1992, then contracted the City of Medicine Hat Police Service to operate in the town for five years before switching to RCMP coverage.
Kilpatrick was a member of the town’s police commission when it existed.
“They need a mechanism for public feedback,” he said.
Cities and towns above 15,000 people and which use RCMP are required to create a local “policing committee,” while cities with their own municipal police forces, like Medicine Hat, Taber and Lethbridge, are required to have police commissions in a long-established system.
However, RCMP-patrolled towns between 5,000 and 15,000 residents would be represented on one of four zone policing advisory committees, but have the option to form a local committee.
Separately, a Provincial Police Advisory Board would be created for small and rural communities under 5,000 people, as well as counties and municipal districts.
