Alberta RCMP launches branch aiming to cut 'roots' of habitual reoffending

Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki, Commanding Officer of the Alberta RCMP, speaks to his comments made earlier this week about racism within the RCMP, in Edmonton Alta, on Friday June 12, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Mounties in Alberta on Thursday unveiled a new Community Safety and Wellbeing Branch, an effort to streamline cooperation between RCMP, mental health professionals, citizen patrol groups and social service providers.

"Reducing crime doesn't necessarily come just as a result of arresting and incarcerating people. Many Albertans have seen firsthand that this approach doesn't work," commanding officer Curtis Zablocki explained.

"Often people facing addictions, mental health challenges, and those who live without adequate housing are among offenders who lag in a cycle of reoffending."

The branch includes Regional Police and Crisis Teams (RPACT), launched last year, which pairs a Mountie with an Alberta Health Services (AHS) employee.

"The mental health professional is trained to diagnose and work with the mental health concerns of the individual and has access to medical records and community support services. The officer is focused on public safety," said Chief Supt. Peter Tewfik, who will lead the branch.

RPACT teams are not yet stationed in all parts of Alberta, but Tewfik said he hopes to have that done in the next couple of years.

"We certainly support expansion of those teams and we've been working with our RCMP partners to try to expand them wherever we can," said Marni Bercov with AHS.

The new RCMP branch also formalizes relationships with social service providers and groups such as Alberta Citizens on Patrol (ACOPA), Alberta Provincial Rural Crime Watch, and Crime Stoppers.

"The role of volunteers is to be the eyes and ears of their community based on their respective mandate," said Garth Kohlsmith from ACOPA, which includes 58 local groups from High Level to High River and beyond.

The new branch follows a trend of Canadian police forces, including the Edmonton Police Service, in taking a more holistic approach to community safety.

"While accountability for criminal actions must occur, communities don't see long lasting crime reduction without recognizing that the social issues sometimes causing habitual reoffending are at the root of the issue," Zablocki said.

There are 16 RPACT teams spread out across Alberta with 132 people in total working inside the Community Safety and Wellbeing Branch.