Survey reignites Albertans’ interest

Alberta Municipalities’ recent survey on public safety and policing has caught the attention of key stakeholders, including Government of Alberta officials and journalists across the province, since mid-February 2023.

The key findings of ABmunis’ poll, conducted by Calgary pollster Janet Brown in January 2023, were:

• A resounding 85 per cent of respondents said that if the Government of Alberta insisted on going ahead with the creation of an Alberta Police Service (APS), the matter needed to be put to a provincial vote.
• Sixty-six per cent of those surveyed thought the provincial government should spend its time, effort and resources on community service support for Albertans who are marginalized and struggling with homelessness, addictions and mental health issues. 
• There was broad support for increasing spending to improve current policing efforts in communities across Alberta and improve the provincial justice system.

President Cathy Heron said the results of this survey paint a clear picture of what Albertans want when it comes to community safety and security.

“Albertans are simply not interested in a discussion or review of community policing in Alberta that is based on political aims or recommendations from the 2020 Fair Deal Panel Report,” said Heron. “Municipalities are interested in discussing the delivery of community policing with the primary goal of enhancing public safety.”

Alberta Municipalities has been calling for a provincewide Public Safety Task Force led by the Government of Alberta since September 2022. We believe such a task force is urgently needed to address the root causes of crime and weaknesses in Alberta’s justice system.

News coverage & opinion pieces

Our February 16 news release led to fulsome news coverage and follow-up media interviews with President Heron and Director Tanya Thorn. Here are some of the news coverage highlights:

• The Red Deer Advocate, Feb. 16 – Most Albertans do not support provincial police force: new survey
• Calgary Herald, Feb. 17 – Most Albertans ‘not interested’ in creating a provincial police force: poll
• rdnewsNOW, Feb. 17 – Survey finds many Albertans not in favour of provincial police service
• CTV Calgary, Feb. 17 – Calgary crime rates remaining consistent, despite a changing public perception
• Alberta Primetime, Feb. 20 – Municipal panel discusses public safety and policing
• Edmonton Journal, March 3 – Plans for an Alberta police force are weakening, budget indicates: expert

Two recent Postmedia opinion pieces mentioned Alberta Municipalities’ position on public safety and the possible creation of an Alberta Police Service:

• B.C. criminologist Jeff Shantz, Feb. 27 – Opinion: Public safety is more about fixing social ills than policing
• Radio show host and columnist Rob Breakenridge, Feb. 28 – Take politics out of discussions on local policing

We are pleased to see our recent poll has reignited Albertans’ interest in public safety and policing, and we plan to continue raising these issues in the weeks and months ahead. To this end, we strongly encourage all the provincial political parties to prioritize public safety and policing in their election platforms. Albertans deserve to know where the political parties and their candidates stand on these critical issues as they prepare to vote in the 2023 Provincial Election.