‘Keep Alberta RCMP’ campaign informs citizens in Smoky Lake 

  By Alan Kausy

The Alberta government is considering transitioning the RCMP out of the province and replacing it with an ‘Alberta Provincial Police Force’ (APPF) despite strong opposition from most Albertans.

The National Police Federation (NPF) represents 20,000 RCMP members. To draw awareness and educate, they initiated a community engagement tour that has conducted well over 30 sessions across Alberta since January.

Staff Sergeant Kevin Halwa was raised in Alberta, is a Prairie/North Region Director with the NPF and has 25 years of service as an RCMP officer. He was stationed in Fort Vermilion, promoted to Corporal in Sylvan Lake in 2008 and achieved Sergeant Rank in 2017 when based in Red Deer.

Jeff McGowan has served 20 years with the RCMP, including 12 years in the Yukon, followed by eight years as a ‘K’ Division Officer. He is also a Prairie/North Region Director with the NPF. Mr. Halwa and Mr. McGowan administered the February 17 session in Smoky Lake.

An APPF transition would take six years and cost approximately $366 million. The yearly cost of the new force would be at least $139 million more than the existing policing model. The Federal government provides $188 million towards the Alberta RCMP. If they were replaced, federal contributions would end. Alberta spends $595 million on policing, while the APPF would cost $734 million annually.

It’s estimated 15% of the current 3100 RCMP members would transition to the APPF, meaning the province would need to train over 2500 recruits to reach its goal of 3153 fully trained officers. 

An alternative model in the transition study has only 1613 fully trained officers supplemented by 1540 ‘Level 2 Officers (Sheriffs). The government has not indicated how they will recruit APPF members.

The city of Victoria is attempting to recruit 12 officers and is offering a $20,000 signing bonus. Yet, they have remained unsuccessful.

Surrey, BC, is transitioning to a municipal force, and they estimated the cost would be $19 million. That projection has ballooned to $90 million, equating to a cost overrun of 400%. If that underestimation occurred during Alberta’s transition to an APPF, costs would expand to $1 billion.

Red Deer considered a shift away from the RCMP, and KPMG conducted a 2019 study which found it would take four years for the transition to occur. It appears unfeasible the province could move to an APPF within six years, as proposed if one municipality takes four years.

The main advantage of an APPF transition that cites the government is gaining policing control. Some believe Ottawa has significant influence over Alberta’s policing procedures.

Regarding this, Mr. Halwa described article 6.1 of the Provincial Police Service Agreement, which states, “The Provincial Minister will set the objectives, priorities and goals of the Provincial Police Service.” This means the Alberta Justice Minister dictates RCMP operations.

Increased resource investment into the Alberta Justice system is more important. The ‘Alberta Crown Attorney’s Association’ recently stated Alberta needs to hire 47 additional Crown Prosecutors to meet demand. This contributes to the ‘revolving door’ justice issue. Habitual offenders who disobey probation or release conditions are situations a bolstered justice system could resolve.

Mr. McGowan suggested funding the mental health system, getting criminals off drugs, out of crime or put in jail would be more effective than an APPF. These alternatives went unconsidered within ‘PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ $2 million ‘APPS Transitional Study.’

RCMP ‘K’ Division provides community policing with cooperative sub-units that over 20,000 volunteers deliver. These are Rural Crime Watch, Victim Services, Citizens on Patrol and Auxiliary Constable Programs.

Other supports include witness protection, air services, undercover operations, special investigations, canine units and technological crime investigation. Approximately 74% of these services are federally funded. If an APPF were instituted, Albertans would be financially responsible.

The motivation for an APPF transition is unknown, and transparency is lacking. Mr. Halwa stated that not one municipality he has had discussions with had indicated support for RCMP abolishment.

Clarification is needed regarding the recruitment and training of APPF officers, the APPF funding resources and why improving the current policing model is not an alternative.

Smoky Lake County councillors attended this session, and they will be meeting with government representatives regarding the APPF in March.

www.keepalbertarcmp.ca has an online survey that provides the NPF with feedback regarding RCMP community policing and the engagement sessions.