ATHABASCA — Fifteen months after the former Athabasca County council decided not to apply for an exemption to expand the role of the community peace officer, it has been supported by the new council.
At Athabasca County's Feb. 16 Ag Services Board meeting, Coun. Gary Cromwell brought forward the notion to support community peace officer (CPO) Kevin Rowan's ability to issue tickets in more places within county boundaries.
“So, one of the reasons why I wanted to bring this up ... is the reporting given by CPO Rowan and every month when we get this report, you will note ‘several 30 plus km/h speeding violations were observed in the Al-Pac (Alberta Pacific Forest Industries) area,’” said Cromwell. “'A 40 km/h violation was also detected in this area,’ onward and so forth. This is a recurring trend, and it is one of our responsibilities to provide the services that are good and needed for the population and enforcement is one of them.”
Under the current Peace Officer Program Policy and Procedures, Rowan is only allowed to enforce the Traffic Safety Act on one- and two-digit primary highways with a posted speed limit of 90 km/hour or less within the Athabasca County borders.
The previous council expressed concerns about the exemption, worried it would take time away from his regular duties and the fines generated would go back to the province.
“It is downloading, under the guise of giving us more freedom,” said then-CAO Ryan Maier. “The province is saying ‘We’re giving you municipalities more authority to enforce on single-digit highways,’ so they’re selling it as a positive, but it’s absolutely downloading.”
The exemption will allow Rowan to ticket on one-, two-, and three-digit highways within the borders of the county regardless of the posted speed limit, as well as in active construction zones.
“I think that that will make a difference,” Cromwell said. “I trust his ability to police his own hours ... doing what he needs to do but also being out there and making our roads and our community a safer place and I think this is nothing but a benefit for the entire community.”
In the explanation to council, interim CAO Dawn Phillips confirmed all the fines generated will come back to county coffers.
“Furthermore, other than stopping speeding motorists, with the enhanced authority the CPO would be able to use lights and sirens when responding to assist other agencies; stop drivers observed violating the distracted driving laws; and assist CPO visibility to the public,” she said.
The council did have some safety and public awareness concerns, but Rowan felt the potential risk would be minimal and that he rarely gets push back from people.
“A lot of people won't question my authority on the side of the road,” he said. “That usually comes later, especially if it goes to court.”
Cromwell also noted Rowan must do what are called 10-70 checks with the Parkland 911 dispatch.
“Once I log on with our dispatcher, I'm given one-hour 10-70 checks. That turns into 10-minute 10-70 checks once I’ve initiated a traffic stop,” Rowan said. “So, every 10 minutes the dispatcher will be calling to find out if I’m OK and then once I’m finished with the traffic stop, I tell them I’m finished with it and then we move on.”
Phillips added Rowan does have all the courses required for advanced authority and all that is needed is the exemption.
“It also applies to other things. There's a lot of illegal quad use up and around Wandering River and a lot of this is happening on Highway 63,” said Rowan. “If I actually had this authority the province is granting us, then I could do more.”
