Detachments with more than 15,000 residents will be required to form a police commission, according to a Legislative Order in Council signed Wednesday
Some of the 118 detachments served by the RCMP around Alberta are about to get an official voice about how they’re policed.
The newly formed municipal and regional policing committees, along with the Provincial Police Advisory Board, are expected to all have a role in setting provincewide policing priorities and performance goals for the RCMP.
“Unique communities have unique public safety priorities and the creation of civilian governance bodies will address this issue. Creating mandatory civilian governance bodies also ensures accountability, as officers will be held responsible for their actions and behaviour,” said Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis in a news release Wednesday.
“In particular, it will assist our work on local resourcing, responding to calls for mental-health and addictions issues, targeting prolific offenders, and dealing with hate crimes,” Hill said.
“The Alberta RCMP welcomes any changes or enhancements to oversight and governance that help us meet the needs of the communities we serve.”
Alberta Municipalities has 265 member communities, and they welcome the effort to build stronger ties between the RCMP and the communities they serve, said association president Tyler Gandam.
“We hope these policing committees and the Provincial Police Advisory Board lead to improved public safety in communities throughout Alberta,” Gandam said.
The new formula introduced as part of the 2022 Police Amendment Act and the Public Safety Statutes Amendment Act, may take municipal governments out of that equation for RCMP-served communities.
“These committees will work with elected municipal officials to set policing priorities for the community, report on initiatives to support those goals, and create safety plans with their local RCMP detachments, authorities, and agencies,” said a provincial news release issued Wednesday.
On a map showing districts and detachments around the province, the four largest detachments, all in the more sparsely populated north, cover wide swaths of what appears to be a fourth of the province, encompassing Wood Buffalo, Fort Chipewyan, Fort Vermilion and High Level.
RCMP-policed communities with populations between 5,000 and 15,000 will be represented by regional policing committees to which they will be required to recruit and appoint members.
“These civilian committees will represent the interests and concerns of the public to the RCMP leadership in their district, work with local officials to identify and address public safety concerns for their region, and report on the implementation of programs and services to address them,” the release said.
Small and rural communities policed by the RCMP with populations under 5,000 will be represented by the new Provincial Police Advisory Board.
The 15-person board will support integrated safety planning and liaise with Alberta’s government, the RCMP, and municipalities to align policing priorities and resources to help address local concerns and challenges, the release said.
Among the 15 seats, there will be dedicated seats for representatives from Alberta Municipalities, Rural Municipalities of Alberta, and First Nations and Métis communities, as well as community representation for each of the province’s RCMP districts: south, central, east, and west.
Regional commission oversees some New Brunswick RCMP
Another arrangement with civilian commissions providing regional oversight for the RCMP exists in New Brunswick.
The Codiac Regional Policing Authority overseeing policing in Dieppe, Moncton, and Riverview was initiated more than two decades ago.
“The CRPA demonstrates accountability to the public, to the partner municipalities, to the province, and to other stakeholders through periodic reports, meetings (except in camera portions), receiving representations from key stakeholders and other interested persons, and by operating in a transparent manner,” the CRPA website reads.
“While the CRPA establishes priorities, policies, and budgets for the CRPS (the RCMP), the CRPA cannot tell the CRPS when and how to open or conduct law enforcement functions such as investigations, arrests, and prosecutions,” the CRPA strategy reads.
Alberta’s new regulations come into force March 1, 2025.