Clearwater County officials are lobbying top RCMP brass to keep highway patrol officers in the Rocky Mountain House area.
County manager Ron Leaf said the RCMP are proposing to consolidate highway patrol units in central areas and officers now serving out of Rocky would be posted to Blackfalds.
The fear is that the nearly hour-long driving distance to Rocky will mean there will be little patrolling done in that area.
Leaf said the long arm of the law is needed on local highways.
In the summer, many tourists head out to the West Country and the area’s roads already have a high traffic fatality rate.
A sports car club in Calgary has even listed Hwy 11 west of Rocky as a “test and tune area,” he said.
The county wants to keep the three highway patrol officers (one position is currently vacant) posted out of Rocky in place to more effectively police local roads.
A meeting has been set up on Wednesday in Red Deer with Supt. Gary Brine, who is in charge of traffic services for K Division, to make their case.
“We’ve got a number of options we’re going to be discussing with Supt. Gary Brine to make the case that we believe the west part of West Central Alberta can be more effectively policed out of Rocky Mountain House than out of Blackfalds,” said Leaf.
The meeting has been in the works for six months, slowed by transitions in the senior RCMP ranks. Brine himself is due to retire shortly after the meeting so Leaf anticipates the county will have to take up the issue soon with his successor.
Clearwater County isn’t the only municipality trying to change the RCMP’s mind about where officers are placed.
The Town of Olds recently sent a letter to Alberta’s Solicitor General Jonathan Denis asking if an RCMP Integrated Traffic Unit could be set up in Olds.
The integrated unit was based out of Innisfail but recently made the move to the old Red Deer Rural detachment on 55th Street near Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School. Seven RCMP members, five sheriffs and a public support staff member comprise the unit.
Olds was the site of a one-year sheriff project, before the officers were moved to other communities such as Innisfail.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com