New police governance regulations unveiled
The provincial government passed Bill 6, the Police Amendment Act (PAA), in 2022. The PAA is intended to increase police transparency and enhance public trust. In addition to other reforms, the legislation requires the formation of civilian governance bodies for all municipalities in Alberta, so that communities can participate in setting policing priorities and performance goals.
The PAA establishes several new mandated structures for municipal input into policing and the Government of Alberta recently released two supporting regulations to clarify the powers, duties, functions, and composition of these new governance bodies:
Every community in Alberta served by the RCMP will be required to be represented by one of the following types of governance bodies, depending on their size and type of police service agreement:
- Municipal Policing Committees
- Regional Policing Committees
- Provincial Police Advisory Board.
Municipal Policing Committees
- Communities with a population over 15,000 that are policed by the RCMP through a Municipal Police Service Agreement (MPSA) will be required to establish a municipal policing committee.
- These committees will work with elected municipal officials to set policing priorities for the community, report on initiatives to support these goals, and create safety plans with their local RCMP detachments, authorities, and agencies.
- A municipal policing committee shall consist of not fewer than three members and not more than seven members appointed by the municipality’s council.
- The minister may also appoint committee members based on the size of the committee.
Regional Policing Committees
- Communities with a population of under 15,000 policed by the RCMP with a Municipal Police Service Agreement (MPSA) will be required to establish a Regional Policing Committee, through bylaws, by March 1, 2025.
- Each RCMP district (South, Central, East, and West) is a region and each region contains five to 10 municipalities that will be required to work with other communities in the same district to recruit and appoint committee members.
- The regional policing committees will represent the interests and concerns of the public to the RCMP leadership in their district, with local officials to identify and address public safety concerns for their region, and report on the implementation of programs and services to address them.
- A regional policing committee shall consist of at least one representative appointed by each municipality represented and as many other members as the relevant councils of municipalities agree.
Provincial Police Advisory Board
- Communities policed by the RCMP under the Provincial Police Service Agreement (PPSA) will be represented by a Provincial Police Advisory Board.
- This Board will represent the interests and concerns of Albertans in these communities, support integrated safety planning and liaise with Alberta’s government, the RCMP and municipalities to align policing priorities and resources to help address local concerns and challenges.
- The 15-person board will be appointed by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services and will include dedicated seats for representatives from Rural Municipalities of Alberta, Alberta Municipalities, First Nations and Métis communities, and communities in each of the province’s RCMP districts.
Municipalities will be responsible for the costs of establishing, administering, and sustaining membership of municipal and regional policing committees. The provincial government will be responsible for the costs of the Provincial Police Advisory Board.
Alberta Municipalities received correspondence from the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services that includes a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ (FAQ) document on these changes. If, after reviewing the FAQ, you still have questions, please contact the ministry by AlbertaPoliceGovernance [at] gov.ab.ca (email).
The ministry will hold information sessions in early 2025 to assist municipalities in establishing the new police governance bodies. The times, locations, and details for these information sessions will be shared as they become available in The Weekly.
