Danielle Smith unveils plan for Alberta Sheriffs Police Service

The province is moving forward with its Alberta Sheriffs Police Service, and although some communities are on board, others are not.

Calgary will soon be the home of Alberta’s new provincial police force, Premier Danielle Smith announced Wednesday.

Smith said the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service is not meant to “replace” the RCMP or any other police service.

“It will work alongside existing branches of law enforcement to fill gaps and ensure that resources are used efficiently. And just like most other police services in the province, it will be run separately from the government, with civilian oversight,” she said.

However, municipalities will have the option to contract the new service for its local policing needs instead of RCMP.

The province says there are around 2,000 sheriffs, with 650 of them fully trained, for this new service.

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Sat Parhar has been appointed as the first chief of Alberta Sheriffs Police Service.

Parhar spent more than 25 years with the Calgary Police Service, and Smith says he has the “right mix of experience and leadership” to steer the new agency.

“His first responsibilities will be recruiting an executive team, as well as building connections with the existing network of Alberta law enforcement organizations,” she said.

Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis says the selection process for the new chief was led independently by the Independent Agency Police Service Oversight Board.

“Many candidates were recommended and considered from all over Canada,” he said. “After careful evaluation, the board recommended Chief Parhar as the right choice.”

Parhar said he is honoured to take on the role.

“I know the burden of a chief, I know the responsibility of a chief, and I think it’s important that I don’t take this lightly,” he said.

“It’s a tremendous responsibility and opportunity to help build something brand new, something forward-looking, something that reflects the needs and values of Albertans.

“This is a rare opportunity for Alberta to build a modern police service from the ground up.”

The province says it wants to be prepared if the RCMP pulls away from contract policing.

But the transition has its critics.

“Beware someone saying they can get you a better service for less money. You know, this is a snake-oil-salesman way of dealing with a rural issue,” said Paul McLauchlin, Ponoka County Reeve.

“I think they’re excited by it. I think they have a fetish to create their own force so they have more control, and it’s frightening to me as a rural Albertan.”

Alberta’s NDP calls the new force a zombie idea—one Albertans did not vote for.

“This is something nobody wants—nobody asked for—and it’s going to cost us billions of dollars just so Danielle Smith can say she did something,” said NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi.

With files from Tyson Fedor