(National Police Federation)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

72 municipalities and organizations support

Central Alberta communities sign Call-to-Action for Keep Alberta RCMP Campaign

Jun 30, 2022 | 11:57 AM

Various central Alberta communities have signed a Call to Action with the National Police Federation (NDF) to voice concern over continued efforts to advance the creation of a new provincial police service.

The NPF launched the list on Monday, which included a total of 72 municipalities and other organizations across Alberta, including the towns of Blackfalds, Bowden, Innisfail, Penhold, Ponoka and Sylvan Lake, alongside Clearwater Community Crime Watch.

The Federation says the group, which they claim is growing, supports the keeping of the RCMP in the province and of investing in, what they say are, long-underfunded critical services within.

“The RCMP play an important role in an integrated team in rural communities, through comprehensive upstream prevention strategies,” said Jean Bota, President of Alberta Community Crime Prevention Association.

The Call to Action recommends that taxpayer-funded resources be better allocated to:

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1. Improve current policing services to reduce response times and address rural crime
2. Improve funding to much needed social services programs to address root causes of crime
3. Increase supports to improve the efficacy and efficiency of the criminal justice system.

They claim the province’s $2 million Transition Study did not highlight how a new Alberta Provincial Police System would address any of the above issues.

“Through this Call to Action, we want to make sure that Albertans live in safe and healthy communities that provide reliable access to critical health, social, public safety, and educational services. We echo these concerns and goals, and strongly believe that the money and time invested into pursuing an expensive and unpopular police transition would be better served by investing in the existing RCMP, the Alberta justice system, and other social, mental health, and healthcare resources,” said Brian Sauvé, NPF President.

The group says the Government of Alberta has yet to release a detailed funding model that spells out who would pay the costs of the proposed transition. For example, they say the Transition Study vaguely notes that initial transition costs would total $366 million over six years, along with an additional $139 million annually, plus inflation, which has since skyrocketed.

“There are many important questions that have yet to be answered. In addition, there is little mention of how to retain and equip non-uniformed employees who, in many respects, are the backbone of Alberta’s public safety network. Only one thing is certain: Albertans would lose the expertise of dedicated and experienced staff who have been serving their local communities for decades. Now is not the time to gamble with the safety and security of Albertans,” said Valda Behrens, Regional Vice President, Alberta, Northwest Territories & Nunavut (RCMP-Justice-PPSC), Union of Safety and Justice Employees.

The NPF state municipalities believe most of these costs will be downloaded directly to them, forcing them to find the funds elsewhere, likely through increased taxes.

“It is imperative that we keep the Alberta RCMP. A proposed shift to an ill-advised provincial police service will lead to devastating job losses and places the safety of Albertans on the line in the name of deficit reduction and the illusion of cost savings. Time and time again, contracting out and privatizing leads to a larger price tag for the taxpayer while at the same time they receive less,” said Marianne Hladun, Regional Executive Vice-President, Prairies, Public Service Alliance of Canada.

Since 2019, the NPF has been certified to represent approximately 20,000 RCMP members across Canada and internationally. The NPF is the largest police labour relations organization in Canada; the second largest in North America and is the first independent national association to represent RCMP members.