By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

City of Red Deer to review policing model

Jun 25, 2018 | 10:20 PM

The City of Red Deer will be conducting a review of its current policing model.

The review stems from a request by councillor Tanya Handley during Operating Budget debate last January when city council approved funds for 10 new RCMP members.

The request was for there to be workshops to determine whether a review was in fact warranted.

On Monday, city council approved the recommended option from the Protective Services department to look at the present-day model, which Director of Protective Service Paul Goranson describes as a hybrid force – comprised of 170 Mounties, and 95 peace officers and resource staff.

The review will also look at service areas which can potentially be enhanced, discontinued or altered. Council allotted up to $200,000 to complete the review, which is estimated to take up to a year.

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“This is a good thing to do because if there are concerns or questions, we certainly want to be doing the best job we can. We should always be continuously improving,” says Goranson. “This has been kind of hanging out there for a while, and I think most of the organization and those on the policing side would like to get on with it and make a decision.”

Mayor Tara Veer added that the partnership The City has with Red Deer RCMP has achieved great gains over the last several years, but several factors continue to complicate the dynamics of policing.

These include a high case file per member ratio, inequity between funding for rural and urban police forces, as well as Red Deer’s growing position as a hub along the QEII and in western Canada.

“I think it’s prudent,” admits Red Deer RCMP Superintendent Ken Foster. “Policing is extremely complex and there are so many external factors that we can’t control, be it legislation provincially and federally, or Supreme Court decisions that are beyond any law enforcement. It’s a big ticket item.”

Foster says he welcomes the forthcoming opportunity to provide input on what Red Deer should do with its policing.

“The men and women of the RCMP do a fantastic job and we’re one of the most well-respected law enforcement organizations in the world. It doesnt mean we’re beyond having a look internally and having a review,” he says. “I respect if The City wishes to create their own municipal police force; that’s a decision competely within their realm under the Municipal Government Act and the Police Act of Alberta. You change the stripe on the leg, but it certainly doesn’t change crime, so it’s whatever they’re comfortable with.”

The last time city council took any sort of look at its policing model was in January 2017 when they voted against (4-4) researching the viability of a hybrid police force.

A more similar review to the one approved Monday was done in 2011; it estimated the start-up cost for switching to a fully municipal police force to be between $4.6 and $7.5 million, with annual operating costs of $4 million.