LAKELAND – New funding directed toward the Alberta Sheriffs Branch is expected to help combat rural crime, according to the Government of Alberta.
The $27.3 million in new funding for Alberta Sheriffs includes $10.2 million being toward new positions, including courthouse security, prisoner transport, and traffic enforcement on provincial highways, according to Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis.
“There is also money being put aside to make the current sheriffs, which are typically your highway patrol officers, complete training so that they actually are fully trained and qualified police officers,” said Ellis to Lakeland This Week.
In addition, $4.3 million will be used to create new rural crime initiatives, which will include two plainclothes teams to assist RCMP detachments across the province with criminal surveillance.
“There's an expectation that when a crime is being committed, or some offences are occurring, that the public is not really too concerned about what the uniform is,” explained Ellis, speaking about the plainclothes teams.
“They just want somebody to show up and answer the call to service, whether it be a 911 call or otherwise,” he said. “So, that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to address call to service and try to augment and support the current model that we have right now all throughout the province.”
In addition, 20 investigators will be added to Alberta Sheriffs’ Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit. SCAN uses civil enforcement to “target problem properties where illegal activities are taking place,” according to information from the provincial government.
When asked how the $27.3 funding will be allocated across the province, Ellis said the chief of Alberta Sheriffs will distribute the funding “from an operational perspective,” toward “where he and his team feel they need to be deployed.”
Provincial Police Force
Ellis also touched on the provincial police force when asked if the new funding toward Alberta Sheriffs is a push toward replacing the RCMP. According to Ellis, no decision has been made regarding a provincial police force.
“What we’re trying to do is address real crime problems that we have under the current model,” he said, explaining Alberta’s contract with the RCMP ends in 2032.
He also noted the federal government has given indicators of moving away from contract policing, including minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino’s mandate letter to conduct assessment of contract policing.
“That is why [provinces like] British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia are all looking at other potential [policing] options,” he said. “If anything, Alberta has been very late to the conversation.”
He added, “It is not about any heavy-handed government coming down and telling any municipality what to do. We want to support all municipalities and that is why we have grant funding available to all municipalities, so that they can empower themselves to let us know what is going to work best for their communities.”
Budget 2023 will provide an additional $8.4 million to help municipalities study the feasibility of establishing their own police service.
Ellis is hopeful that the new funding to Alberta Sheriffs is going to work. Having more presence will act as a deterrent in addition to alleviating the pressure on the RCMP, he believes.
“We are doing whatever we can, whether it be in rural Alberta, whether it be in larger municipalities, to make sure that citizens feel safe,” said the minister. “This is one step towards that and I'm sure there’s many more to come.”
