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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alberta RCMP most cost affective policing option for Rocky Mountain House: report
Rocky Mountain House has been looking at alternative policing arrangements and according to a report, the Alberta RCMP is the most cost-effective option for the municipality. The report commissioned by the Town of Rocky Mountain House, located 215 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, found while RCMP contract costs are rising, it was still the most competitive options compared to other alternatives. Joyce Tustian, project lead for the report at Western Management Consultants (WMC), said at a council meeting on Aug. 5 the cost of the RCMP compared to other options remain the municipality's 'best deal' because as a smaller municipality, it lacks forces and 'economies of scale.' 'You just aren't big enough to do the things as a small municipality in a way that is cost effective. We looked at a lot of hybrid and regional models, and we thought that in the longer term, they offer promise, but they're very complex in terms of their design and their implementation, and we don't think that they are going to meet your needs in the short term,' Tustian said. 'We came to conclusion that the RCMP contract optimization and oversight can provide you with short-term gains and prepare you better for the future.' The report looked at five different policing models, including an independent municipal police service, an independent police service and community peace officers, an expanded community peace officer program, an Alberta Provincial Police Service and an optimized RCMP service. Hunter Baril, acting press secretary in the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services, said in a statement to Postmedia that the province remains 'committed' to working with municipal governments to meet local policing needs. The province has provided more than $2.2 million under the Indigenous and Municipal Police Transition Study Grant to 35 municipalities, 23 First Nations and eight Métis settlements to study their existing police service and potential alternatives, according to Baril. Currently, Rocky Mountain House policing resources are facing 'considerable pressure' due to increasing mental-health crises, social complexities, homelessness and substance-abuse issues, according to the report. Rocky Mountain House deputy mayor Tina Hutchinson said the town received $60,000 from the province to conduct the study, along with $30,000 from the municipality to cover costs. She said because Rocky Mountain House is in the middle of Clearwater County and in such a large area, it makes it difficult for the RCMP to have coverage both out of town and in town. 'A lot of the struggle that I feel we're having is when those calls are out in the county you can't just send one member. It's two or three that are going out, and those calls take (several) hours, sometimes more depending on the severity of what is going on, and what they're responding to,' Hutchinson said. 'As the municipality, we felt that we're paying for 12 members under our RCMP municipal contract, and we don't see them visibly … that was part of the drive to do the policing study.' Council voted to accept the report as information and will later bring it to service level for further discussion. The Rocky Mountain House municipal detachment currently operates with 12 municipally funded positions — down from the previous 14, an adjustment made in response to 'significant RCMP contract cost increases stemming from a national collective bargaining agreement.' 'These 12 municipal officers are integrated within a detachment that also houses provincial and federal RCMP members. There is not a recent, detailed workload analysis publicly available that would allow for more complete reporting regarding severity of incidents and time spent on calls,' the report said. 'However, it is noted that the workload is heavy, and the analysis supports retention of the existing staff numbers and suggested improvement of operational procedures.' The report provided three key recommendations, including maintaining the RCMP contract, optimizing the RCMP contract by investing in oversight community peace officer support and data transparency, and creating an integrated public safety unit. 'Maintaining the RCMP contract provides stability within a known framework and leverages existing investments, avoiding the significant one-time transition costs, operational complexities, and inherent uncertainties associated with establishing new policing entities,' the report said. Tustian said it is important for the municipality to strengthen its policing committee, which would be a 'strong tool' as a key link between council and the RCMP. She added it's important Rocky Mountain House becomes part of the movement of municipalities that are strategically engaging and advocating for the policing needs of smaller communities. Within the recommendations, Tustian said the municipality should spend more time managing and interfacing regarding policing than what has been previously done. 'I think we see a lot of municipalities who are sort of passive clients of the RCMP. We're suggesting that you should not be that, that you should be a very active partner,' Tustian said. ctran@ Related Alberta appoints deputy Calgary police chief as head of independent police agency Alberta taking next step to establish independent police agency, municipalities could opt-in Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news Edmonton Journal|The Edmonton Sun
Edmonton Journal
4 days ago
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Alberta RCMP most cost affective policing option for Rocky Mountain House: report
Article content The report commissioned by the Town of Rocky Mountain House, located 215 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, found while RCMP contract costs are rising, it was still the most competitive options compared to other alternatives. Article content Article content Article content Joyce Tustian, project lead for the report at Western Management Consultants (WMC), said at a council meeting on Aug. 5 the cost of the RCMP compared to other options remain the municipality's 'best deal' because as a smaller municipality, it lacks forces and 'economies of scale.' Article content 'You just aren't big enough to do the things as a small municipality in a way that is cost effective. We looked at a lot of hybrid and regional models, and we thought that in the longer term, they offer promise, but they're very complex in terms of their design and their implementation, and we don't think that they are going to meet your needs in the short term,' Tustian said. Article content 'We came to conclusion that the RCMP contract optimization and oversight can provide you with short-term gains and prepare you better for the future.' Article content The report looked at five different policing models, including an independent municipal police service, an independent police service and community peace officers, an expanded community peace officer program, an Alberta Provincial Police Service and an optimized RCMP service. Article content Article content Hunter Baril, acting press secretary in the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services, said in a statement to Postmedia that the province remains 'committed' to working with municipal governments to meet local policing needs. Article content Article content The province has provided more than $2.2 million under the Indigenous and Municipal Police Transition Study Grant to 35 municipalities, 23 First Nations and eight Métis settlements to study their existing police service and potential alternatives, according to Baril. Article content Currently, Rocky Mountain House policing resources are facing 'considerable pressure' due to increasing mental-health crises, social complexities, homelessness and substance-abuse issues, according to the report. Article content Rocky Mountain House deputy mayor Tina Hutchinson said the town received $60,000 from the province to conduct the study, along with $30,000 from the municipality to cover costs.
