Grande Prairie appears poised to pursue its own police force, a prospect explored and last rejected by Red Deer city council three years ago.
At a news conference in Grande Prairie on Thursday, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis pledged $9.7 million over two years to help Grande Prairie make the transition should it choose that route.
Ellis said the government is committed to improving public safety and is prepared to support innovative ways to protect the public.
“Having a community-led and focused police service will ensure Grande Prairie is finding unique solutions that will better serve their region,” he said in a statement.
Ellis said he has had conversations with “several” other municipalities about other policing options.
Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton said city council will debate March 6 on whether to go forward with dropping the RCMP to establish a municipal police force. A city transition study estimated the cost of changing police at $19 million over five years.
Clayton said the city’s engagement process found widespread local support for a city-run police force. It would offer increased local oversight and decision making while improving accountability, efficiency and autonomy.
Asked where the additional nearly $10 million would come from to cover transition costs, Clayton said talks continue with the province for further support.
The mayor also predicted that police officer retention would improve with a local force.
“We’re very optimistic that people will want to work for a localized service,” she said.
The City of Red Deer last looked at the advantages and disadvantages of replacing RCMP with a municipal force in 2019. Consultants undertook a $200,000 review that determined annual policing costs would be higher with a city police force and the transition would cost up to $13.5 million and take two to four years.
In January 2020, council voted 6-3 in favour of keeping the RCMP, after hearing that the estimated 2023 RCMP cost of $44 million would be well below the $51 million it would cost to run a municipal force.
Those opposed on council said going to a municipal police force was not worth the additional cost at a time of high crime in a slow economy.
In B.C., the City of Surrey’s transition to a municipal force from RCMP has turned into a mess. Costs escalated and the city’s new mayor was elected last fall on a promise to reverse the decision and transition back to RCMP.
Mayor Brenda Locke tabled the city’s draft five-year budget last week forecasting a 17.5 per cent property tax increase this year, with 9.5 per cent of that going towards the police transition.
Approval from the provincial government was needed to drop the RCMP and will be needed before bringing them back. A decision was first promised by January and the province’s public safety minister says that will now come by spring.
Alberta’s provincial government has been considering a move to a provincial police force, a move widely panned by organizations representing the province’s urban and rural municipalities.
Ellis was asked whether the government’s support of Grande Prairie’s municipal police proposal meant the government was backing away from a provincial force. The minister said no decision had been made on a provincial police force and the government is willing to look at a variety of options to improve public safety, whether it involves municipal or regional police forces or RCMP.
Alberta Finance Minister and Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA Travis Toews said next Tuesday’s provincial budget would include a deep commitment to public safety and better enforcement.
— With files from The Canadian Press.