I read with interest the Gazette article of Feb. 27 respecting an upcoming debate on the potential revival of St Albert’s defunct policing committee, the same committee that was disbanded a year ago by RCMP Inspector Kevin Murray because it had become “simply ineffective.”
The Police Act of Alberta (2015) establish the rules, requirements and duties of police commissions and policing committees for municipalities with their own police services and municipalities and regions who opt for using the RCMP as their police service.
Of interest in that legislation is the mandated requirement for any municipality that establishes their own police service to establish a police commission to, among other things: oversee the police service, establish policies providing for efficient and effective policing, allocate funds, issue instructions to the chief of police and ensure that there are sufficient persons employed for carrying out the functions of that service.
The requirement to establish a police commission for some reason does not apply to a municipality or region that has chosen to have the RCMP as their police service, in this case, St. Albert. Those municipalities and regions may, if they so choose, establish a policing committee to, among other things: represent the interests of the council to the officer in charge, in consultation with the officer in charge develop a yearly plan of priorities and strategies for municipal policing, represent the interests and concerns of the public to the officer in charge.
Included in this legislation that was established to properly and effectively address concerns around civilian oversight of and citizen participation in policing in Alberta, are very clear guidelines for the establishment, structure and maintenance of those committees. These guidelines are also outlined in the RCMP Policing Committee Handbook and its appendices referenced in your article by Coun. Bob Russell.
And, more contextually, there is nothing in that handbook or in the Police Act that allows for a police chief or an RCMP officer in charge of a detachment to disband a police commission or policing committee or opt out whether they think the committee is “effective” or not.
These commissions and committees play a significant role in providing a bridge to and from the public and the police agency of choice and should be maintained with the rigour that they and we deserve. The question of whether St. Albert should have a policing committee or whether the office in charge approves it should not be a matter of debate, particularly in light of the most recent report from the federal Labour Department.
Peter Ratcliff, St. Albert
