Photo Courtesy EGP Staff

By Tanner Smith

RCMP

Alberta RCMP refuting comments made by Premier Smith

Sep 27, 2024 | 12:18 PM

Alberta RCMP have issued what they refer to as “corrections to comments made by Premier Danielle Smith” at the Alberta Municipalities Convention, held in Red Deer yesterday. (Thursday, September 26)

According to RCMP, the premier made “some remarks about the Alberta RCMP and it’s current state that are inaccurate.”

Despite continuous communications with our provincial partners, the current strength of Alberta RCMP officers is regularly miscommunicated, as is our current vacancy rate in Provincial Policing (this excludes municipal policing contracts which are contracts in place with municipalities for their policing services).

In the interest of clarity, the Alberta RCMP has a total of 1,772 police officer positions within the provincial policing contract. Our current vacancy rate within provincial policing is 17.3% or 306 positions. Of those positions, 124 are currently unfilled. The other 182 are officers who are not currently at work for a variety of reasons, including illness, maternity-related leave, and other special leave. These are statistics that are shared with our provincial partners every month.

We recognize that vacancy rates, recruiting and retention are substantial concerns for citizens. We’re not alone in this challenge. Police services across the province are struggling to hire. The Alberta RCMP has undertaken a massive recruiting campaign and have already received over 1,400 Alberta applicants and are on track to double this by year’s end. This includes some of the highest numbers of diverse applicants ever seen. This is an increase of applicants by 77% over the last five years, and the number continues to grow.

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We know that recruiting can’t be the only solution we focus on. We are continually analyzing our service delivery models to ensure they are as efficient and effective as they can be. In consultation with the communities we serve, we regularly review our policing models and explore new service delivery models that answer to the specific needs of citizens in those communities. We know that staffing challenges will not be solved by recruiting alone.

In the same release, Deputy Commissioner Rob Hill, Commanding Officer of the Alberta RCMP said; “The employees of the Alberta RCMP are fiercely proud of the policing services they provide to Albertans. We are here to serve and protect Albertans, and we will continue to do so with dedication and integrity.”

Deputy Commissioner Rob Hill (CC: Alberta RCMP)

At the Convention yesterday, Premier Smith and NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi addressed delegates and media members on several topics, including; using electronic vote tabulators for municipal elections, the Jasper wildfire, K-12 education, and housing stock.