Do-right Alberta:
Keep the RCMP
The Alberta government is actively pursuing the potential replacement of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with an entirely new Provincial Police force.
If Alberta chooses to go down this path, this could result in a major disruption to policing services in the short term, and potential job losses for hundreds of RCMP Uniformed Officers—but also for the approximately 875 USJE public safety personnel who are employed by the RCMP throughout the province.
Take action
Tell the Alberta government to keep the RCMP in Alberta!
Albertans at the RCMP
See more profiles at ServingTogether.ca
Missing pieces
The government’s main argument is that a Provincial Police force would be more efficient and cost effective. However, a key report by PricewaterhouseCoopers concluded that Alberta would have fewer trained officers at a higher cost under the proposed provincial police service!
It is also likely that the current $170 million from the federal government in annual funding for provincial policing would be in jeopardy.
USJE, among other stakeholders, fully anticipates that the recruitment and retention of experienced officers would prove very challenging, which could compromise the efficacy of policing in communities across Alberta.
In fact, it is not at all clear that Albertans want to sever their ties with the RCMP. A recent survey by the National Police Federation found that 76 percent of residents in communities served by the RCMP are satisfied with their RCMP policing services.
We need to act fast!
Key questions
Where will money for this transition come from?
Why would the Government of Alberta consider less fully trained officers than what Albertans have with the current RCMP contingent?
Where and how will the Government of Alberta train enough officers to fill the ranks of a new APPS?
How would an APPS be more effective than the RCMP can now?
When will a true feasibility study be conducted to understand the full financial and public safety impacts, as recommended in the APPS Transition Study?
Media
Proactive policing means doing more with what we have
It’s crucial that our elected leaders have a candid conversation, not play politics, with Albertans about how to strengthen the police forces we already have, including the RCMP, which has had a major foothold in Alberta for over 100 years.
Read More
The real cost to communities served by the RCMP
While Calgary and Edmonton do have their own police forces, outside of these cities, overwhelmingly, it is the RCMP that responds to emergencies, lays charges for major crimes, including in highly sensitive areas such as sex trafficking, child pornography, and the illicit drug trade.
Read More
Public safety union launches campaign to stop the transition to a provincial police force
The nationally based Union of Safety and Justice Employees (USJE)—which represents over 17,000 federal public safety employees, including several thousand that work for the RCMP throughout the country—has launched a campaign in Alberta to oppose the provincial government’s potential plans to sever ties with the RCMP in favour of a proposed provincial police force.
Read MoreFact or fiction?
“A provincial police force would be less expensive.”
