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By Tanner Smith

Grande Prairie Municipal Police Service

Grande Prairie Police Chief Dwayne Lakusta officially sworn-in

Apr 20, 2024 | 6:00 AM

A searing-In ceremony was held at the Teressa Sargent hall on Friday, April 19, to officially welcome Grande Prairie Municipal Police Chief, Dwayne Lakusta, to his new role.

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After the ceremony, Lakusta asked any residents who felt that a transition to a municipal police force was not the right thing for the city “to give him a chance.”

“If you have questions or concerns, let me answer those questions because there’s a lot of variables that are maybe unknown, that people aren’t sure of. What I don’t like to see are rumours and innuendos out in the community.”

“We can actually answer that, so we have a public information line. I’m always happy to meet with stakeholders, tell the story, here’s why, here’s what we’re doing, and here are the benefits. It’s just truly is there to help improve community safety and wellbeing.”

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Lakusta added that the new Grande Prairie Police Service is about modern policing, and will use a tiered model, so not every call will be responded to “by a badge and a gun.”

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This marked the first time a municipal police chief swearing-in ceremony was done in Alberta in nearly 70 years. The last one took place in Camrose in 1956.

A municipal police force has been in the works for some time according to Mayor Jackie Clayton, as it was first being floated around in 2020, when a Police Model Review was proposed.

“This has been multiple years in the process, lots of conversations, significant amount of public consultation, as well as conversations with the province, communication with the RCMP, and really assessing after the municipal service police review, as well as a transition plan recognizing what was possible. With it being here today, it is real.”

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With it being such a milestone achievement, multiple local dignitaries were on hand to celebrate Chief Lakusta, including Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis and country music star Paul Brandt.

During the ceremony, Brandt not only gave a musical performance but also endorsed Lakusta as the new Police Chief, and the city for putting him in this role.

Brandt and Lakusta first met when then Premier Jason Kenny chose Brandt to lead a committee on human trafficking in Alberta, a group that also included Lakusta.

Brandt continues his work with human trafficking, starting an organization, Not In My City, in 2017, often reaching out to Lakusta for advice.

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Grande Prairie Municipal Police Commission Chair Dan Wong says the service will now be shifting its attention to hiring staff and filling out the ranks before the end of 2024.

“The police services is essentially on a recruitment and hiring frenzy now, because they want to make sure that they hit those numbers that are in our transition plan. By the end of the year, they’re looking to have about 40 officers in total, both NCO and commissioned officers.”

Anyone wanting more information about the municipal police, are interested in applying for a job within the Grande Prairie Police Service, or would like to stay up to date with upcoming events, can visit the Grande Prairie Police Service website.

Photo Courtesy EGP Staff