New sheriffs assigned to fill area courthouse vacancies

There’s a new sheriff in town. Actually, there are nine.

Alberta Justice confirmed Friday that several recent graduates of the province’s latest Alberta Sheriffs’ recruit class have been assigned to courthouse security and prisoner transport in the Edmonton region, filling some of the existing vacancies.

The recruits graduated from a 14-week training program on Dec. 23.

According to Alberta Justice spokesman Jason van Rassell, as of Friday there remain 27 vacancies out of 424 full-time equivalent positions in the courthouse security and prisoner transport branch across the province.

Van Rassell said he couldn’t confirm how many of those vacancies are in Edmonton for “operational security” reasons. He also said another recruitment round will begin in spring to help address the remaining six-per-cent vacancy rate.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees represents the province’s sheriffs. Union vice-president James Hart said while he’s pleased some of the pressure on front-line workers is being alleviated, more hires are needed.

“... this is a good step. However, the courts are still overburdened and many workers who are integral to keeping the process moving continue to be overworked due to short staffing,” Hart said in an emailed statement Friday.

The sheriffs aren’t the only group of court workers dealing with a lack of resources.

In 2017, provincial criminal court clerks filed 35 workload grievances, and the association representing Crown attorneys spoke critically about the shortage of prosecutors and a “triage process” implemented to deal with the case backlog.

The province’s newly appointed superior court justice also recently called for speedier appointments to the bench.