UPDATED: Alberta government introduces bill about independent police agency, ankle bracelets

Not quite a provincial police force, but it is an announcement related to policing. The Alberta government has brought forward a bill to enable the creation of an independent police agency. “These changes are part of a broader paradigm shift that reimagines police as an extension of the community rather than as an arm of the state,” said Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis in a Wednesday press release. “Having a new police agency perform these functions under the legal framework of policing legislation will ensure they’re carried out with the transparency, accountability and independence which Albertans should expect from law enforcement.”If passed, the Alberta government said the Public Safety Statutes Amendment Act (PSSAA) would update current policing legislation to establish a new police force to work with others across the province. It added officers in the new agency would take on police-like functions carried out by the Alberta Sheriffs. These changes would be intended to improve the Alberta government’s ability to respond to communities’ requests for additional law enforcement support through a new agency. It would be independent from government as all of Alberta’s police services are now. The Alberta government acknowledged the proposed amendments would underpin its ongoing work to strengthen the current policing model. However, the Alberta RCMP will continue to operate as the provincial police service. This work builds on previous initiatives done by the Alberta government to expand the role of the Alberta Sheriffs to increase public safety. It said the new agency would follow best practices, which include being subject to a civilian oversight board to increase public confidence and accountability. By creating a provincial agency that can perform specialized law enforcement, it said police services across Alberta will be able to spend more of their time focused on core operations and frontline duties. The Alberta government went on to say the PSSAA would create an ankle monitoring program to hold high-risk offenders accountable while out on bail or serving a community sentence. “The federal government’s bail policies are failing to keep people safe,” said Ellis.“We are taking an important step toward combatting rising crime, creating safer streets and neighbourhoods and protecting our communities.” Ellis called ankle bracelets “another tool in the toolbox for courts to hold high-risk and repeat offenders accountable for their actions while out on bail.”Under the PSSAA, the Alberta government said people subject to a court-ordered electronic monitoring condition would be required to wear a GPS tracking device on their ankles. These devices would be monitored 24/7 by a centralized monitoring unit within Alberta Correctional Services.By bringing in ankle bracelets, it predicted it would protect Albertans and communities by helping to secure offender-restricted areas such as victims’ residences, places of employment or any other area deemed off limits as part of bail or community release conditions.Currently, Albertans who are subject to provincial community-based court conditions and bail supervision are monitored by staff within Correctional Services during regular business hours. Once operational, Alberta’s program would provide more supervision of repeat offenders and those on bail who require around-the-clock monitoring. The Alberta government spent $5.25 million on electronic monitoring in Budget 2023. Of that funding, $2.8 million covered implementation costs for the 2024/2025 fiscal year, with the full amount of $5.25 million to begin in 2025/2026. Former Alberta finance minister Travis Toews said in 2023 the government would not be moving forward with a provincial police force at the moment. READ MORE: Toews says an Alberta police force is 'off the table'Toews called it “off the table.”“Government is interested in one thing when it comes to enforcement — — that's better enforcement, less crime, more security and safety for Alberta citizens,” said Toews. The Alberta United Conservative Party put some criminals on notice in May that should they receive bail, they would be monitored 24/7 with ankle bracelets.READ MORE: UCP vows to put ankle bracelets on violent offenders out on bail in AlbertaThe Alberta UCP announced its Safe Streets Action Plan, which is a comprehensive set of measures to restore safety to cities, communities, and public transit.The plan aims to increase monitoring of dangerous offenders out on bail, keep hard drugs and guns off Alberta streets, and protect women and children facing abuse.Ellis followed up by saying his understanding of police operations helps him. “I used to be an incident commander,” he said. “That was one of the jobs I had at the Calgary Police Service.” As an incident commander, he said he learned to deal with people with complex needs. That is why people see him as a leader for dealing with those with severe mental illnesses.