The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) is accusing the province of backtracking on its plan to tackle rural crime after it reorganized staff..The Alberta government assured citizens it was taking rural crime seriously and created the Rural Alberta Provincial Integrated Defence (RAPID Response) program, but the government is now quietly cutting that force, said Sandra Azocar, vice-president of AUPE..AUPE has been informed 10 fish and wildlife officers assigned to RAPID are now being dropped, Azocar said..“This comes after a great deal of money was spent training and equipping these officers to respond to police emergencies,” she said in a release..“Our members are wondering if these are just the first cuts or if the RAPID program will be reduced even more.”.Joseph Dow, spokesperson for Justice Minister Tyler Shandro, says some specialized positions — such as investigators and training officers — have been reorganized into a different section of the organization following the the integration of Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services into Alberta Sheriffs..“No Fish and Wildlife staff have been laid off and there have been no cuts,” Dow told the Western Standard..AUPE represents 95,000 members including peace officers who have been assigned to RAPID, which was created on April 1, 2021. .AUPE Fish and Wildlife officers were assigned to RAPID to provide timely responses to emergency calls traditionally handled by the RCMP. These officers are expected to attend life-and-death situations including home invasions, assaults, robberies, and school shootings, as either a first or back-up responder..Rachel Emmanuel is the Edmonton Bureau Chief for the Western Standard.remmanuel@westernstandard.news
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) is accusing the province of backtracking on its plan to tackle rural crime after it reorganized staff..The Alberta government assured citizens it was taking rural crime seriously and created the Rural Alberta Provincial Integrated Defence (RAPID Response) program, but the government is now quietly cutting that force, said Sandra Azocar, vice-president of AUPE..AUPE has been informed 10 fish and wildlife officers assigned to RAPID are now being dropped, Azocar said..“This comes after a great deal of money was spent training and equipping these officers to respond to police emergencies,” she said in a release..“Our members are wondering if these are just the first cuts or if the RAPID program will be reduced even more.”.Joseph Dow, spokesperson for Justice Minister Tyler Shandro, says some specialized positions — such as investigators and training officers — have been reorganized into a different section of the organization following the the integration of Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services into Alberta Sheriffs..“No Fish and Wildlife staff have been laid off and there have been no cuts,” Dow told the Western Standard..AUPE represents 95,000 members including peace officers who have been assigned to RAPID, which was created on April 1, 2021. .AUPE Fish and Wildlife officers were assigned to RAPID to provide timely responses to emergency calls traditionally handled by the RCMP. These officers are expected to attend life-and-death situations including home invasions, assaults, robberies, and school shootings, as either a first or back-up responder..Rachel Emmanuel is the Edmonton Bureau Chief for the Western Standard.remmanuel@westernstandard.news
