A new provincial police force composed of sheriffs could benefit St. Albert, Coun. Ken MacKay said, as it has been a fight to get the local RCMP detachment fully staffed for the last two years.
Policing shortages are among the reasons the UCP announced last week plans for a new police agency that would be crafted by adding extra duties to the roster of tasks already carried out by sheriffs.
“You have sheriffs working with front-line police officers already, and they are already in our communities,” MacKay said. “I see that continuing. And so using that model, I don't think it would be much of a stretch to see how [sheriffs and RCMP] could cooperate and coordinate other policing responsibilities in communities.”
MacKay, who worked with the Edmonton Police Service for 33 years, is optimistic a new provincial police agency could “augment” the work of established forces.
He does not think that the new force would replace RCMP.
“I don't believe that it would be an efficient use of resources,” he said. “I don't believe we'll ever be contracting with the sheriff's department to be providing policing services to our residents. But there could be some sort of mutual agreement to support RCMP.”
However, MacKay acknowledged the addition of an extra police force could make recruiting new officers more challenging for RCMP.
“Particularly if the sheriffs are competitive in salary and in job assignments, then you're going to be looking at competition for a pretty tight resource right now,” he said.
MacKay attended an event last week where Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis told municipalities the province’s goal is to enable sheriffs to act as first responders when police are unavailable.
However, in a news conference last week, Ellis told reporters Alberta needs to be prepared for the possibility the RCMP could withdraw from the province when it comes time to renew their contract in 2032. And the move has critics arguing the UCP are simply laying the groundwork to ditch the RCMP in favour of a force that is completely managed by the province.
Insp. Ryan Comaniuk with the St. Albert RCMP said the detachment’s vacancy rate is “beginning to stabilize” now it has been authorized for an additional five positions.
“All police agencies across the country are dealing with a recruiting crisis and now find themselves playing catch-up following the pandemic,” Comaniuk said.
It’s too early to tell what impact the new police force will have on St. Albert RCMP, he said.
“In my view, any ‘new’ police agency will face the same challenges as existing agencies; namely, marketing efforts directed at the policing industry as a whole and human resources/recruiting.”
The union that represents Alberta’s sheriffs said it was not consulted about the province’s plans.
Brian Sauvé, president of the National Police Federation, the union that represents the RCMP, said in a statement that RCMP are “concerned and perplexed about the announcement.”
“Alberta has significant policing infrastructure in place through the Alberta RCMP, yet the government has not increased funding for our members to keep pace with population growth and evolving crime in the province.”
