Justice minister and Solicitor General Tyler Shandro says the deployment model for a proposed provincial police force would offer high-quality service with more boots on the ground and fewer bureaucrats.

He says it would add 275 front-line police officers to the smallest 42 detachments in Alberta and guaranteed a minimum of 10 front-line police officers at each detachment, which would increase police presence in rural Alberta. Currently, there are some detachments with as few as three police officers.

"We can also make access to mental health, addictions, family crisis services, and other specialized police services more accessible to all communities across Alberta,” says Shandro.

In addition to beefing up police in rural communities, a network of 20 to 30 service hub detachments, with a staffing range between 48 and 192 police officers, would serve residents of larger municipalities and provide support to nearby community detachments when needed, including mental health response.

These hubs would be spread across the province to support local policing while also providing specialized investigative units and other specialized services, such as tactical and canine units, which are traditionally based in larger centres. 

The deployment model has urban hubs in southern, central, and northern Alberta that would serve larger communities and their surrounding areas and function as regional headquarters. As well as providing core policing to the local area, the urban hubs would be home to forensic services and investigative support functions performed by civilian specialists. The urban hubs would also support smaller detachments in their region as needed.

The report also outlines how an Alberta Police Service would extend dedicated support to self-administered First Nations police services through its service hub detachments, making it easier for more First Nations to establish and maintain their own self-administered First Nations police services.

Shandro says the one-size-fits-all approach to community policing by the RCMP has been a major stumbling block.

"Alberta's RCMP officers serve with valour, they serve with honour, they serve with integrity, and we're grateful for their service. This is not a criticism or attack on them. Our only quarrel is with the federal bureaucratic system that has now prevented reforming policing in our country for decades."

He says the transition costs would be covered by the province and the existing funding models would remain in place for municipalities.

"Both Quebec and Ontario have their own provincial police service and look, their provinces have not collapsed, so don't believe the union rhetoric that's out there about costs."

Shandro says they would not close any existing detachments. Because Alberta pays 70 per cent of RCMP policing costs. it also owns 70 per cent of its assets and would negotiate to buy out the balance.

He says other provinces are also studying its feasibility and that the federal government has been exploring the possibility of ending policing contracts with provinces and municipalities wanting to establish their own police force.

Should Alberta decide to proceed, they are required to provide the federal government a two-year notice to terminate the current agreement. It is expected the transition would take a few years to complete.

Shandro is thrilled to see the potential decision to move to a provincial police service become part of the debates in the UCP leadership race and that it is firmly backed by the front runners.

"It's a subject that has been a topic of debate for decades since I was in high school and it deserves to be part of the discussion about Alberta's future."

This community policing deployment model is part of the broader Alberta Provincial Police Transition Study prepared by PricewaterhouseCooper.

The province is continuing its engagement with the public, municipalities, and First Nations.