Alberta to create Police Review Commission for misconduct investigations, still finalizing RCMP participation

Alberta's public safety minister unveiled amendments to policing legislation in an attempt to improve public confidence in police services and create new processes to review law enforcement conduct complaints.

Minister Mike Ellis introduced Bill 6 in the legislature Thursday afternoon, which built off more than 200 consultations since 2018 and a public survey answered by almost 15,000 Albertans.

If passed, Ellis says the changes represent the largest overhaul of the Police Act in 34 years and help reorganize police misconduct complaint investigations and establish local policing committees for municipalities and rural regions.

Under the current provincial legislation, municipalities using the RCMP have the option to form policing committees that can act on behalf of the mayor and respective council for police oversight.

According to the province, most communities have not chosen to form a policing committee.

Cities with their own police services are required to have a commission for independent oversight. Now the provincial safety minister would have the opportunity to appoint members to those commissions, with the number of appointees based on the size of the commission.

The new governance changes mandate the creation of regional police governance zones for municipalities with a population of less than 15,000 or the opportunity to create a local governance body to provide RCMP with more resident feedback.

"This is about ensuring that the rural municipalities, they have a say at the table under our current model, which is the RCMP who is the current provincial police service provider," Ellis said.

POLICE REVIEW COMMISSION

If passed, the bill establishes one provincial Police Review Commission to receive complaints of police misconduct, negligence or other professional standards concerns. That new agency would investigate the complaints, adjudicate them, and, if necessary, conduct hearings.

While the province claims this agency plans to address the perception of police officers investigating police officers, there are no rules preventing former officers from participating in the commission.

Ellis said the province would implement a "robust" hiring process to appropriately screen potential commission members and investigators.

"We want to hire good people," he added, "that are going to obviously be able to perform these investigations as well."

"That doesn't necessarily mean that you have to have been a police officer," Ellis said. "[But] we can't discount somebody that has 25, 30 years of investigative experience as being a possible option."

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) would be folded into the new agency to continue probing all serious incidents involving law enforcement agencies where a person died or was injured, whether directly or indirectly following an interaction with police.

ASIRT's mandate would be expanded to include investigating serious incidents involving peace officers and Alberta Sheriffs.

In a statement, Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee welcomed the new agency, saying he hoped the "new direction will provide an additional layer of public transparency and assurance."

No details about the budget of the police review body were available, with the province expecting funding to be split with local police services.

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NEGOTIATIONS WITH RCMP ONGOING: ELLIS

Since the RCMP work with Public Safety Canada, complaints on Mounties' conduct are investigated by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC).

Additionally, the RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) acts as an independent agency that reviews appeals in disciplinary, grievances, discharge and demotion matters.

While the province says the new Police Act amendments make it easier for Albertans to bring complaints forward to one provincial body, the RCMP have not formalized their participation in the Police Review Commission — meaning complaints will still have to be fielded to the proper federal investigative bodies.

"The RCMP are absolutely supportive of this and want to participate," Ellis told reporters, adding that discussions with K-Division command and Public Safety Canada are ongoing.

"[This] still falls, technically, under the RCMP in Ottawa," he added. "We are going to continue to negotiate with the RCMP because we believe the independent body is the right approach."

Alberta RCMP confirmed it is working with the province and the federal government to "identify opportunities that create consistency and efficiency in the complaints process."

"The Alberta RCMP is adaptable and future-focused, adjusting to the dynamic and changing safety and security needs of Albertans," said Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki, commanding officer for Alberta officers.

"We support legislation that truly embodies what will best serve Albertans and ensure that citizens are at the forefront of policing priorities."

According to Ellis, Indigenous communities with their own police forces are on board with the new oversight changes.

When asked by reporters if any decision had been made about the creation of an Alberta police force, Ellis said no, adding that the new amendments do not lay the scene for one.

'THIS WILL MAKE OUR COMMUNITIES SAFER'

The proposed bill formalizes requirements for all police services in Alberta to develop community safety and diversity and inclusion plans.

While most police agencies already draft those plans, the province says the new rules would ensure they are not only reported to the municipality but the safety minister.

Lastly, the new amendments provide the minister with the opportunity to set "provincial policing priorities" that are to help promote consistency across the province. Police services would then report annually on their progress.

Community consultation would be expected to help draft safety plans so that policing is "more in tune" with the expectations of Alberta municipalities and create strategies "beyond enforcement and better address (the) root causes of crime, Ellis said.

"When you have greater collaboration between the police and their partners in the community, it leads to more coordination and helps identify gaps in services, ensuring people get the help they need when they need it," the provincial public safety minister added.

"This will make our communities safer." 

Irfan Sabir, Opposition justice critic, said the proposed changes offer new "sweeping powers" to the public safety minister to "interfere in local policing commissions and matters."

"It is a disturbing step towards the politicization of policing from a government that has a record of political interference in law enforcement and the administration of justice," Sabir said in a statement.

For Sabir, should ASIRT remain underfunded, the new changes won't help encourage transparency in law enforcement reviews.

"Without adequate funding," Sabir said, "and proper checks and balances to prevent the UCP's political interference, this legislation is meaningless."