Municipal Policing Reviews: Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie is transitioning to a municipal police service, despite a lack of consultation with residents and unknown cost implications.
Grande Prairie is transitioning to a municipal police service, despite a lack of consultation with residents and unknown cost implications.
In June 2022, the Alberta government introduced the Indigenous and Municipal Police Transition Study Grant. This grant provides Indigenous communities and municipalities with a one-time grant of up to $30,000 to explore establishing their own municipal police service or a regional policing model. It is part of the provincial government's recent broader narrative pushing for a transition away from the RCMP. However, this approach has raised concerns about fairness, financial feasibility, and the genuine desires of Albertans.
Albertans across the province have been clear: 78 % of those with an opinion oppose a transition to new municipal service and continue to support their local RCMP. This overwhelming support underscores the value and trust placed in the RCMP as an established and reliable police service in Alberta. The survey highlights that many communities prefer improvements to the current service over a costly and uncertain police transition.
It is widely recognized that municipalities should frequently review their police services to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and continuous improvement in service delivery. Regular assessments help identify areas for enhancement, address community concerns, and adapt to changing public safety needs. However, the current grant from the provincial government is narrowly focused, only supporting communities interested in exploring a transition to a new policing model. It falls short in several critical areas:
Police services launched by municipalities with minimal community consultation and rushed decision-making risk community safety and the sustainability of municipal budgets.
Without a fulsome account of all costs and risks posed by police service transitions, residents of these communities will be burdened with financial impacts for years to come.
Several Alberta municipalities, including Red Deer, Airdrie, Beaumont, and Olds have conducted policing reviews and consistently chosen to retain the RCMP. These decisions were made based on a careful analysis of the costs and benefits associated with municipal policing versus the existing RCMP service.
Findings:
| Red Deer (2020) | Found that transition costs would exceed $13.5M and annual operating costs for a municipal police service would be 16% higher - or $7M annually. |
| Airdrie (2020) | Found that a municipal police service would cost roughly $5M more annually in operating costs. |
| Grande Prairie (2023) | Found that it would cost $19M in transition costs and cost $2-$4M more in annual operating costs per year than the current RCMP police service model. |
| Beaumont (2024) | Beaumont reviewed all public safety services including fire and police. Their report recommends efficiencies to improve the current policing service delivery model. |
| Olds (2024) | Found that annual operating costs of a municipal police service would be significantly higher. In Year 1, projected to be 57% higher than the current RCMP model, increasing to 84% higher by Year 3. |
In contrast to the other cities, the City of Grande Prairie opted to transition to a municipal police service. However, Grande Prairie did not have the financial means for this transition, so the provincial government has partially funded it. This calls into question the e equity and fairness of using tax dollars from all Albertans to pay for a service in one municipality.
Grande Prairie is transitioning to a municipal police service, despite a lack of consultation with residents and unknown costs.
There are many unknowns about the Grande Prairie police transition. As a taxpayer, you deserve the facts. View the Grande Prairie Police Transition Timeline to learn more about the City of Grande Prairie’s police transition commitments.
Grande Prairie Police Transition Timeline
Any police transition is complex and will incur hurdles along the way. These hurdles should have been identified in a comprehensive feasibility study. In 2024, the GPPS was to deploy 41 officers and 31 peace officers. However earlier this year, GPPS noted that staffing and other challenges will result in only about 25 officers joining.
The City of Grande Prairie’s Policing Transition Final Report stated an estimated $19 million would be needed for transition costs, of which the Province said it would provide $9.7 million, with the potential to provide more provincial taxpayer dollars in the future, if needed. However, the actual transition costs are expected to be higher, possibly leading to increased property taxes for residents.
The Report was rushed and contained minimal public engagement, resulting in a report that did not account for all costs and impacts that could be associated with such a police transition. These additional costs could result in huge additional funding requirements, such as:
All taxpayers in Grande Prairie – and Albertans across the province – will be stuck with the bill. We have already seen low-ball police transition estimate cost promises in other communities across Canada. In some areas transition plans have resulted in increased property taxes to the tune of 15%.
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