Grande Prairie, Alberta- City Council Approves Transition To New Locally-Led Municipal Police Service
Grande Prairie City Council has approved the establishment of a municipal police service and transition away from the RCMP.
The decision was made at a Grande Prairie City Council meeting on March 6 and follows a years-long assessment of policing in Grande Prairie. The assessment included a public consultation process, a review of existing policing methods, and the creation of a transition plan, led by the consultant MNP.
Could work as long as “No RCMP” ex or present allowed.
So where will you draw for an experienced talent pool then? Also, with the types of people attracted to policing, do you really think it will be any different?
Going to cost a lot to get up and running, and no I am not saying they shouldn’t do it, their own choice, but it will cost a lot.
Smaller towns of Ontario have their own police forces – it’s doable. They get recruits from the police college in London, ON. There may be others in other provinces but that’s one I know of.
Cost of freedom from corruption of authorities, like what the rcmp have become… worth it.
The cost is frequently not as much as expected. In many cases the fixed support such as buildings, some equipment is already in the ownership of the municipality.
I was involved with a contracted police service and the operation costs to run the service. The Mayor and council were surprised that the police building and all of the attached costs, heat, power, water etc. were already covered by the towns operating budget. Two members of council were not aware that we in fact owned the police station and much of the radio communication equipment.
Crazy the RCMP ar trained to cover their ass at all cost. The only people they are interested in protecting are politicians.
You can say that again.
Crazy the RCMP are trained to cover their ass at all cost. The only people they are interested in protecting are politicians.
Hope to see more of this in western Canada. Great way to signal that you are open for business, too. The kinds of local governments that make moves like this are also ones that will bring positive policies in others areas, in my experience.
The RCMP are putting out a lot of ads on Twitter about keeping them in Alberta. They’re getting ratioed hard, and almost all the comments bring up High River.
As one who got to experience the brilliance of the RCMP, town/provincial politicians/bureaucrats during the High River flood, I feel like the greater hardship was ‘surviving’ the people in those groups. Incompetence and power drove their thoughts and actions. Nothing the RCMP could ever do will change my opinion of what they perpetrated against law abiding citizens experiencing their darkest days.
Bravo Grand Prairie. May you inspire millions more.
The RCMP burned its bridges long ago.
Every town should have its own private police force. The other guys simply can’t be trusted.
The RCMP burned its bridges long ago.
The RCMP burned people’s farms down long ago.
And the RCMP wonders why it is not liked.
All thing federal needs to stay in Ottawa. The west can take care of itself without federal help.
High river was mentioned. In general, incompetence with a very high minded sense of embedded entitlement, which can be illuminated through the enormous sexual harassment settlements, Portapique, Dzanski, Greg Matters, on and on and on, with the complete absence of any thing resembling a spine. Lucki quit when she should have arrested the turd.
They’re just more of the shitty over priced theatre that runs Ottawa.
It’s a bust as far as bang for the buck goes.
And in it’s present state, it will only cost more and more.
Someone noted that you cannot go from something to nothing. This cannot and will not be a defund the police movement. As CCinAB noted, it will be expensive and difficult. But in desperate need of doing. Before the chinese do it for us.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?*
I cannot understand why anyone thought having one law enforcement agency like the RCMP as your ONLY federal, province, and local police force was a good idea. The only way to make it stupider would be to give all the law enforcement authority to the Army. (And some nations do that.)
Down here in the US we have a lot of problems with the FBI and the other federal agencies. Some states have problems with their state police forces too. But most states have county sheriffs, and the county sheriff and county deputy system are almost universally respected, especially since they are elected and re-elected every four years, not appointed by partisan politicians like the corrupt mayors of Chicago, LA, or New Orleans.
I lived in rural counties where the only “Law” was the County Sheriffs, or had the Sheriffs police the rural areas, but the “big city” with 7,000- 10,000 people had their own city police force. It works well, especially if they are backed by an honest professional state police force with crime investigation expertise for complex major crimes.
Minneapolis Minnesota has lost a lot of police after the martyrdom of Saint George Floyd. Crime is way up, and a big reason is there are not enough police. One way the Democrat Mayor and Democrat Governor are slowing the increase in crime is assigning lots of Hennepin County Sherriff Deputies (and MN State Highway Patrol) to patrol local streets in Minneapolis.
* “Who will guard the guards themselves?” You want a variety of law enforcement agencies, not a single one like the RCMP.
Good info. Thanks
From what we’re seeing, I don’t think anyone wants one like the RCMP.
I have had a very positive experience with some mounties. But, they ended up telling me how completely effed up the mounties were and are.
Here too, have a few friends in the forces. One member told me when he had to do business in Ottawa over a case the atmosphere at HQ was essentially one word: “evil”…
So sad how are this institution has fallen. I think the Dzanki tazer incident in Vancouver opened the door to the downfall.
The RCMP are almost never local people. No affinity to the people and communities they drop in to proselytize the current thing to. This way they can’t be liable for the deterioration in social cohesion they cause. And won’t think twice before slugging someone when they get inclined.
It works in China. The PLA never serve in the province they are born in.
The RCMP now are the military wing of the Liberal party.
Who’s going to kick their doors in and steal their firearms?
. to paraphrase Obama . if you like your guns , you can keep your guns.
but not with the rcmp around
L- 1. If, the Commissioner of the R.C.M.P. reported to
Parliament, not to the government of the day, as is the case now.
2.The Commissioner would also be chosen by an all Parliamentary
Committee. Thus could fulfill the Magna Carta/Common-Law
principle that the law applies to the Crown and agents thereof
as it does to everyone else.
3.Independent or dependent on the government of the day. Which
can administer the law without fear, nor favour?
4. This question remains, the Sask. Party Gov’t. changed the Legislative
security from the Sgt. At Arms to a new service answering to the gov’t.,
Does To Serve and Protect apply in case of political rallies/protests ?
How many police forces in Canada’s motto is still ‘To Serve and Protect’?
Notice how no political party advocates for that, none!
Former Assist. Commissioner, Robert Head, Reform Party Candidate
back in the early 90s did.
The rcmp have ads all over media here in AB suggesting they’re really Albertan’s at heart. Haha, sure you are.
They are also suggesting it’s going to cost more to have a local police force. They’re (the rcmp) the cheapest thing out there. If that’s all they got is ‘cheap’ – good riddance. They are not suggesting they are competent.
Lacombe AB and High River AB have very similar populations. Almost identical. Lacombe has always had it own local police force. They have never let the rcmp near the place. The Lacombe police are a competent respected municipal police force.
High River by comparison is policed by the rcmp. In 2013 High River had aonce in a hundred year flood. For some reason, while the town was evacuated the rcmp thought it would be a good idea to break into private homes and search for firearms. To gain entry they smashed doors out of their frames with battering rams and tore places apart destroying private property. In some instances when they couldn’t find what they were looking for they came back, sometimes on multiple occasions wreaking havoc. They left the homes wide open to the elements with thousands of dollars in damage. The federal firearms registry was there guide to the homes of law abiding citizens who were forced from their residence by a devastating flood.
To put this into perspective the rcmp didn’t use cops from the High River detachment to damage the locals homes because word might get out who these guys are. They brought in cops from out of town.
Now I ask you, do you think a local police force like the Lacombe Police would pull a stunt like that? No crime had taken place and there were no gun threats.
The rcmp has earned the scorn of Albertans. They are not trusted. It matter little what the cost is they need to go.
We have to give some credit to “Corporal Robinson ”
Bragging about the members fine skill levels,vandalizing those backhoes at Coutts Alberta.
Bragging about the destruction of private equipment,cause the RCMP feared that some one might use it,against their plans..
But we need to keep them,cause they are cheap..
Deputize every licensed firearm owner.
Fire the Federal Fools.