Benefits and Reasoning
- Why is the City replacing the RCMP?
Grande Prairie is a growing mid-sized city with a vibrant and diverse population. It acts as a regional hub serving over 301,000 people across Northwestern Alberta, Northern British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. Over the next 25 years, the Government of Alberta projects Grande Prairie to have one of the largest population growth rates in the province.
While the city thrives across many metrics, crime, and safety are frequently reported as top areas of concern for residents. Crime data confirms the public perception that crime is an issue in the city. The Crime Severity Index for Grande Prairie is significantly higher than both the provincial and national averages.
Grande Prairie may have reached a size and complexity whereby it has outgrown its current municipal policing model (RCMP contract policing). Of Canada’s 100 largest municipalities, of which Grande Prairie is one, the vast majority (79%) are policed by municipal or regional police services and this percentage is even higher for large municipalities that act as the regional hub, like Grande Prairie (85%).
- What are the benefits of a municipal police service?
The Police Service Model Review and the Policing Transition Report conclude that a municipal police service would provide the following benefits to Grande Prairie:
- Increased local oversight, accountability, and efficiency offered through a local police commission and local decision-making autonomy
- Ability to quickly develop policies, programs, and initiatives at the local level to respond to changing public safety needs;
- Procurement and implementation of leading-edge equipment and technology can occur quickly and efficiently;
- Police modernization free of historical encumbrances. The municipal police service is conceptually designed to provide a wide range of public safety services far exceeding that of historical law enforcement and is positioned to evolve with society more nimbly;
- Improved officer recruitment based on local candidate development and in-community police recruit training offered through a partnership with a leading police academy provider;
- Greater officer retention based on officers having stronger community ties and no transfer/relocation policy;
- Overall financial transparency and viability. Grande Prairie would gain control over cost elements and could more readily direct costs with increased granularity than what is available today;
- Community policing costs are projected to be less than what is expected under continued RCMP contract policing; and
- Enhanced public safety infrastructure through the local development of:
An Integrated Public Safety Communication Centre (Dispatch) to serve all City first responders
A public safety Real Time Operations Centre with 24-hour staffing to provide ongoing situational awareness of public safety in the city and surrounding area
New specialized policing capability in the form of a local Emergency Response Team (Tactical)
Research, Studies, and Reports
- How has the City assessed a policing model change?
In the City of Grande Prairie 2021 Budget, Council allocated funding for the completion of a Police Services Model Review (PSMR). The review commenced in December 2021 and concluded in September 2022.
The specific objectives of the review were to:
- Complete a comprehensive review of the Grande Prairie RCMP, including associated Municipal Employees, and Grande Prairie Enforcement Services.
- Perform a comparative analysis of police services delivery models to assess viable options for the City of Grande Prairie.
- Undertake a governance review of current and alternate policing options
- Provide the Municipal Police Advisory Committee (MPAC) and City Council with a written report containing the findings of the review and recommendations for consideration
Council received the 119-page review in October of 2022. When the report was received and available to the public, Council spent many, many hours reading this and publicly discussing, learning and asking numerous questions. View the report here.
When Council received the findings and recommendations of the PSMR, the recommended next step was for Council to approve the development of a detailed Transition and Community Engagement Plan to further assess the opportunity to establish a modern municipal police service. The PSMR concluded that regardless of the decision on a Provincial Police Service, the City of Grande Prairie could benefit from an alternative service provider by way of a municipal police service. Further analysis was recommended.
At that time Council directed that a third-party analysis by way of a detailed transition plan (inclusive of in-depth stakeholder engagement) be completed to truly assess the viability of a municipal police service for the City of Grande Prairie. MNP LLP was subsequently retained by the City to develop a Policing Transition Report (PTR).
The Transition Plan was to describe in detail the necessary regulatory, planning, community engagement, staffing, equipment, training, records management, technological and operational steps, funding requirements and timeline for the new municipal service to become the police service of jurisdiction for the City of Grande Prairie. Council did approve that recommendation.
The MNP-led PTR was reviewed by Council on February 21, 2023. View the report here.
In both the Police Service Model Review and the Transition Plan, municipalities across Alberta and Canada were consulted. In Alberta, every Municipality that operates under a municipal police model was reviewed including Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Camrose, Edmonton, Lacombe, Taber and Calgary. These conversations and the numerous consultations done across Canada were extremely valuable.