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| Provincial police proposal insults AB Mounties - Wednesday, November 12, 2003 at 21:24 |
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PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Law enforcement agencies such as the RCMP should be kicked out of rural Alberta and replaced by a provincial police force that will cost less and provide better service, a provincial think-tank report suggests. The five-month Fraser Institute study recommends smaller departments consider merging with other police forces, giving them a better understanding of community needs and maximizing public input. The idea has outraged Mounties who say the study is "insulting." RCMP K Division Commissioner Bill Sweeney, commanding officer of Alberta, said claims the RCMP is not involved in community policing is untrue. "Not only is this assertion incorrect, it is insulting to the men and women of the RCMP who proudly serve the citizens of this province," said Sweeney. "The RCMP is absolutely committed to a community-based policing model and to say any differently without any facts to back it up is offensive and irresponsible." The report, Policing Alberta -- An Analysis of the Alternatives to the Federal Provision of Police Services, was released Monday and offers options for smaller police services outside of Calgary and Edmonton. "We wanted to see if this would be something that made sense financially," said Barry Cooper, co-author of the report and a political science professor at the University of Calgary. Another suggestion is replacing the RCMP with provincial police in communities with populations over 15,000. Cooper said the move would allow the federal authorities to focus more attention on major issues such as human trafficking, organized crime and internal security. In a provincial first, Lethbridge and Coaldale have moved to establish a regional police force to patrol the two neighbouring municipalities. Lethbridge city council approved the move in principle last week and Coaldale town council voted to continue the process Monday night. A final draft of the proposal should be ready for approval by both councils by the end of November. If it passes a vote and is then approved by the Solicitor General's office, it will be the first such policing agreement in Alberta. Combining forces with Lethbridge will allow Coaldale, 14 kilometres east, to save on the $923,000 it budgeted this year for policing, while gaining the added resources and expertise of the Lethbridge department. In addition to officers on street duty, the 122-member Lethbridge force has full-time sex crimes and drug investigators, as well as a K-9 unit. The pair are among several smaller venues, such as Sundre, that are considering forming their own police forces after the RCMP's provincial policing contract expires in 2012. While members of the Alberta Federation of Police Associations applaud the report's findings, a jump to provincial policing may be too large a step. "We're certainly not opposed to a provincial force. What this report offers is a very sober look at policing in the province," said Jon Netelenbos, executive director of the federation. "But it's too big a bite to get into." The study compared RCMP spending to the Ontario Provincial Police and claims a provincially administered force delivers services at a lower cost. The RCMP dispute that. "If the RCMP had been consulted, we could have pointed out the OPP does their costing in a different manner than we do, making this shallow of a comparison useless," said Sweeney. |