The Bonnyville RCMP detachment along with detachments in Cold Lake, Elk Point and St. Paul will be among those receiving some new frontline staff for 2020/21. The RCMP made the announcement Thursday that a new funding model had opened up cash to hire some new members.
Five new frontline police positions for each of the detachments plus one new position in Athabasca has been announced. In total, the RCMP expect to hire 76 new police officers and 57 new civilian support positions.
“The Alberta RCMP understands that police resource levels are of particular importance to our communities and even more so under the new funding model. We know that targeting and reducing rural crime goes hand-in-hand with sufficient resources as demonstrated by boots on the ground. Within the RCMP’s integrated service delivery model, detachment resources are augmented by centralized frontline support and specialized units as well as by civilian support positions. This means that the benefit of additional RCMP resources can be felt in communities across Alberta.”
Support staff including Call-back Units in Edmonton and Calgary and Provincial Child Advocacy Centres interviewers have also been announced.
“Rural Albertans asked for action against rising crime, and our government responded with Alberta’s largest single investment in policing since the RCMP’s March West. Putting more boots on the ground in rural Alberta will help protect residents and ensure they feel safe in their communities,” says Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Doug Schweitzer.
The Alberta RCMP is calling the move “… an unprecedented financial commitment to policing in response to the concerns expressed by rural Alberta communities.”