Sohi wants changes to Edmonton Police Commission: 'I think it's outdated'

Edmonton's mayor believes the city's police governance system "is not responding to the expectations of Edmontonians" and he's contemplating supporting a major shakeup.

Amarjeet Sohi said Tuesday that the Edmonton Police Commission (EPC) is "outdated," while suggesting city council have more control over Edmonton Police Service.

"I don't think we should be expecting volunteers from the community to be appointed and responsible for overseeing half a billion dollar budget," Sohi told reporters at city hall.

"The EPS is not directly accountable to city council even though it is our responsibility to allocate resources, they're accountable to police commission."

Last week, Sohi voted against a $7 million increase for EPS, but a $414 million budget passed anyway by a council vote of 9-4.

Sohi didn't say exactly what governance model he prefers but that he'd be thinking about it over the next few months.

"I don't know what the solutions are but the governance structure is not really conducive to asking tough questions and asking the right questions," Sohi said.

EPC CHAIR RESPONDS

City councillors are responsible for setting the EPS budget and then the EPC "allocates" those funds, commission chair John McDougall explained in a statement to CTV News Edmonton.

"The commission as a whole will review the mayor’s comments at our regularly scheduled meetings," McDougall wrote.

He defended the process of EPC Tuesday by saying that the commission publicly reports monthly budget updates and has "committed extra time to exploring police budgeting to better understand what would be required for funding and where it should be allocated over the next four years."

"Police commissions exist to ensure there is a separation between municipal elected officials and police services, and this separation is codified under provincial legislation," McDougall stated.

But that provincial legislation may soon change as Alberta continues a review of the Police Act, which includes "governance and public trust."

U OF A PROFESSOR AGREES WITH SOHI

A special advisor on that review told CTV News Edmonton Tuesday that he has similar concerns to Sohi.

"Police chiefs can basically pick and choose which of the recommendations of the civilian oversight that they wish to accept. That is outdated," said Temitope Oriola, a professor of criminology and sociology at the University of Alberta.

"Far too often the Edmonton Police Commission functions as the public relations unit of Edmonton Police Service. I am surprised by this. It is something that is, in fact, antithetical to the notion of civilian oversight."

Oriola described Edmonton's system of police budgeting and oversight as a "convoluted landscape." He proposed to the Alberta government "a professional, independent police oversight agency. A one-stop-shop."

Oriola said other jurisdictions are moving away from volunteer commissions in favour of professional bodies that are overseen by retired judges. He suggested a new one in Edmonton also include police conduct investigators with no prior connections to police or military.

"That civilian agency is the supervisor and the police agency is the supervisee. And there is no question in law, or in practice, about that relationship," he said of other models.

Last week, the EPC was criticized by some councillors for a decision to order a funding report from a group that EPS Chief Dale McFee is also president and chairperson of.

Last winter, councillors decided to cancel a planned $11 million EPS budget increase in hopes of a "cultural shift" within the service.

Alberta started the Police Act review in 2020. A spokesperson for Alberta Justice said that process is ongoing and called it a "complex issue."

"Any changes to policing governance and oversight in the future will be informed by the input we have received from this broad engagement," Joseph Dow wrote in a Wednesday statement.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson