BARRHEAD - The Barrhead RCMP Detachment is currently short two members due to officers temporarily on paternity and health-related leave.
However, RCMP Sgt. Colin Hack told town councillors at their Jan. 28 meeting that Barrhead and Alberta, in general, are better off than many other provinces, especially those on the prairies.
He said Alberta presently has an eight per cent hard vacancy rate compared to 16 in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Hard vacancies are available positions that do not have a person to fill them permanently, compared to a soft vacancy, where a position temporarily goes unfilled due to illness or other reasons.
A detachment of the size of Barrhead community has a 10-member contingent, including one sergeant, a corporal, and eight general duty constables.
"Recruiting [for law enforcement agencies] is still a challenge," Hack said, adding the RCMP's 'K' Division (Alberta) spends the most money on recruiting.
He said the extra money and effort are helping the recruiting drive, adding that Alberta has more people applying to become RCMP officers than any other province.
However, Hack said there is a lengthy delay between processing them in Ottawa and assigning a successful candidate to Regina's national force's training facility.
"He said the ["K" Division] is looking at taking that process away from Ottawa and localizing it in Alberta.
RCMP alternatives
Hack said the discussion the province and some municipalities are having about potentially replacing the RCMP with local police or a provincial force has died down.
He said one of the things municipalities considering creating a municipal police force over the RCMP forgets is the cost of litigation.
"If someone sues the RCMP, it does not come out of the detachment's budget," Hack said. "Ottawa deals with them all."
But, he said, if someone takes the same civil action against a municipal police force, the costs will come out of their municipal budget.
"[For example, if that were to happen in Grande Prairie [the municipality is transitioning to a municipal force], they may be forced to decide whether they pay someone out or do we clean our streets this winter? There are some potential costs that everyone doesn't realize," Hack said.
The RCMP's contract with the province expires in 2032.
New non-lethal weapon and body cameras
Hack said the Barrhead Detachment would soon have an additional non-lethal weapon when soft hand control techniques, taser, pepper spray or other methods are not feasible.
The ERIW uses sponge-tipped rounds in a plastic casing, which employ smokeless powder as a propellant. The projectiles are fired from a launcher resembling an assault rifle.
Hack said he had seen the weapon used in real-life situations multiple times as a dog handler responding with one of the RCMP's emergency response teams.
"It is very effective unless the person is super high," he said.
Hack said the detachment also received several body cameras and expects to complete the training on their use in the coming weeks.
"[The cameras] are mandatory," he said. "Members must wear them and turn on every call they respond to, and the footage will be added to every file."
New detachment
Hack said construction of the new RCMP Detachment facility is on schedule.
"The RCMP plans to build eight new detachments in the next three years, and I've been told that Barrhead is first on the books for 'K' Division," he said.
Although Hack did not give a construction start date, the groundbreaking is expected this spring. Construction will take two years to complete.
He added that the construction of the new $9.4 million state-of-the-art facility is long overdue.
Specifically, the detachment's cell area is problematic as it no longer meets current requirements and has been deemed safe. As a result, prisoners have to be transported to the Westlock detachment.
In previous council meetings, Cpl. Filipe Vicente said the new building will be "one of a kind" and net zero, featuring a geothermal heating/cooling system, adding electricity would be provided through solar panels, including electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for the use of potential EV police vehicles in the future.
"They did ask me if I wanted an EV," Hack said, adding perhaps they could assign an EV to the school resource officer. "[For anyone else] it isn't practical. Can you imagine a constable going to Fort Assiniboine or Lac La Nonne in minus -30?"
"If it were to happen, they'd be one-way trips," Mayor Dave McKenzie joked.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
