NISKU-
An independent association comprising counties and municipal districts says it opposes a proposal from the Alberta government to create a provincial police force.
Late last year, Premier Jason Kenney implored rural leaders to consider the merits of a provincial police service.
His United Conservative Party government has said provincial police would increase service levels in rural areas, decrease overall policing costs and increase local input into policing.
But Rural Municipalities of Alberta says in a news release that the proposed model leaves significant gaps in how it would increase service levels in rural areas.
The association says it has submitted a report to the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General opposing the creation of the police force.
It says its members have already endorsed a resolution to continue supporting the RCMP in Alberta.
In October, the province released a third-party analysis of a proposal for an Alberta-run provincial police force instead of using the RCMP in rural areas and some smaller cities.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report says it costs Alberta about $500 million a year for the RCMP. The federal government chips in $170 million under a cost-sharing agreement.
The report says if Alberta decides to go it alone, it would cost about $735 million each year, on top of $366 million in startup costs.
But it says there is potential for more cost-effective law enforcement by using existing human resources and the government’s financial services to save money, and by drafting agreements with municipal forces to share specialized police services, including canine units, air support and tactical squads.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2022.