(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

future of policing

Special city council meeting set to consider new policing model

Nov 25, 2019 | 6:10 PM

A special meeting of city council will be held Dec. 3 to begin deciding the fate of policing in Red Deer.

City council directed administration to begin conducting a review of the current policing model a year ago.

Director of Protective Services Paul Goranson says the process has been intense.

“We’ve been working with consultants ever since January or February of 2019, and the report is final now,” he says. “The meeting on the third (of December) that council has set is solely focused on the police review; they felt it was a significant enough topic they needed a focused period to have that discussion.

The consultant and administration will present to council before they have an opportunity to ask questions, and eventually debate.

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“What council asked us to do was to look at the different models (of policing) that are out there and prepare an objective report that looks at different criteria and how they compare under different factors,” added Goranson. “This way, they’ll have an informed, objective, data-based report that takes away some of the subjectivity.”

The full report is expected to become public by the end of the week.

When council approved the review a year ago, it was said that it could take up to 18 months to complete. In January 2017, council voted 4-4 against researching the viability of a hybrid municipal police force.

The Dec. 3 meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. inside council chambers at Red Deer City Hall.