Rocky Mountain House residents can offer their takes on local policing at open houses Thursday.
Town council voted in March to spend up to $90,000 to conduct a review of policing options and get a sense of how the community feels about local policing and public safety. A provincial police transition grant program has provided $60,000 for the study and council approved up to $30,000 more in its 2025 budget.
A consulting firm was hired to undertake the study and prepare a report on the existing policing model, explore other options and policing models and hear what residents have to say about crime and victimization and whether they feel they are getting their money's worth from the RCMP.
Rocky Mountain House also gathered feedback through an online survey that closed on May 6.
Town council has stressed its decision to take a look at its policing model is not an indication that the town feels the local RCMP detachment is lacking.
Policing is one of the town's single largest budget items and it makes sense to see if there are more cost-effective options to keeping the community safe, says the town. Policing represents about $2.4 million of the town's $28 million operating budget.
The study will consider four policing models: maintaining the current system, establishing a municipal police force, contracting another municipal police force and considering whether sheriffs could be contracted to form a municipal police force.
Twelve RCMP officers assigned to the town and about 20 provincial and federal RCMP officers share a cramped detachment building in the town.
The open houses are taking place at Rocky Regional Recreation Centre from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6-7 p.m.
Grande Prairie is already making the switch from RCMP to a municipal force after making the decision in 2023 to phase out the RCMP. Municipal police officers are being gradually added and will work with RCMP until the town's police force takes over full control, expected to happen next year.
The province announced last month it would provide an additional $7 million in funding for the transition to a municipal police force, bumping the province's total contribution up to nearly $17 million.
