RCMP wants to remind provincial government of their worth to Albertans

They are urban police forces in such police as Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Edmonton, Calgary and one in Taber to name a few. RCMP Members and their salary or benefits, that is something the NPF is presently negotiating with Treasury Board of Canada. All RCMP Members in Canada are compensated under the same contract, regardless of their province or territory of work. E.g., a Constable in Estevan, Saskatchewan gets the same rate of pay as a Constable in Brooks, Alberta or New Minas, Nova Scotia.

The RCMP have been in Alberta since 1873 and Sauvé describes as being “very much part of the provincial fabric and history, having deep personal, family, and social connections to the communities they serve. These programs include Crime Stoppers, Centre for Youth Crime Prevention, Rural Crime Watch, and Safely Home Program, among others.”

“Can there be improvements, though? Absolutely. And that’s what we should be focusing on, rather than signing up for higher costs with less service,” adds the NPF president. “Creating a new provincial police force isn’t as simple as clicking your heels, pulling out your provincial government debit card and pressing ‘enter’ to approve the transaction.

The Government of Alberta will need to consider all things related to staffing, training, of special units such as terrorism, major crimes, forensics, emergency response, police service dogs, air support (helicopters), and more. IM/IT infrastructure, facilities and maintenance, ongoing recruitment and training of officers, administrative support, pensions and more.

“In terms of risks to community safety, as we’ve seen in other jurisdictions, a transition away from the RCMP would result in less officers, putting rural communities at risk.”

He points out that Since 2017, public requests for police assistance in both emergency and non-urgent matters in Alberta have risen 20%. Despite flat funding and increasing demand, in 2018 the Alberta RCMP dedicated 30 officers and 40 civilians to a Crime Reduction Strategy, with a focus on addressing rural crime rates.

That Strategy achieved a 10% decrease in crime rates for rural detachments and 6% for municipal detachments so far. Sauvé says a new police force would put this progress at risk. He adds there is also the issue of federal government Housing for Members in isolated communities – many communities do not have a viable rental market and the RCMP provides housing to Members, which “would be a very real concern for individuals hired into this new Alberta Police Service. “

As well, under the provincial police services agreement, the federal government pays 30% of the costs to redeploy RCMP officers within the province in cases of emergencies, such as fires, floods and protests. Sauvé says that’s also money that the Government of Alberta will have to raise, perhaps even directly by taxpayers, in order to cover those costs.

Over the past two weeks Albertans sent over 14,000 letters to government officials expressing their concern with the proposal to replace the Alberta RCMP with a new provincial police service.The NPF has been engaging with key legislative and stakeholder groups, such as the Rural and Urban Municipality associations as well as media. The NPF president isn’t sure what will be the outcome.

“To be sure, it’s not our role to tell the Government of Alberta what to do – that is up to voters who duly elect their representatives,” explains Sauvé. “On behalf of our 3,500 RCMP Members in Alberta, we’ve launched the #KeepAlbertaRCMP campaign through a Facebook page and website, to encourage a fulsome discussion between Albertans and their elected representatives. The support has been strong and growing, and we’re also engaging with Price water house Coopers to provide our unique perspective on the risks.”