A recent survey commissioned by the RCMP union shows that 9 out of 10 Albertans are satisfied with the service provided by local RCMP. However, nearly every other poll contradicts the data.
An earlier survey shows that 79 per cent of Calgary residents are favourable towards local police forces, suggesting that many may favour a more province-centric service.
Three-quarters of Canadians view the police in their community favourably. Critical views rise considerably among 18 to 34-year olds:https://t.co/mvYwOAmMDp pic.twitter.com/kCFijsPyXL
— Angus Reid Institute (@angusreidorg) October 9, 2020
Similarly, a Nanos poll found that 46 per cent of Albertans were in favour of a provincial police force, while 39 per cent say they are somewhat opposed and would like to keep the RCMP, and 16 per cent said they were unsure.
Only a different study commissioned by the Alberta RCMP earlier reports a survey conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights finds a similar figure to their new study, with 81 per cent of Albertans saying they are satisfied with services provided by the RCMP in the earlier study.
Moreover, the RCMP’s new poll results are counterintuitive as over half of the respondents resided in Calgary and Edmonton, which aren’t even policed by the RCMP but by local, municipal police, and may mean that some respondents believed the RCMP were providing their police service where they weren’t.
Federal State Broadcaster says that the Federal State Police have a 100% approval rating among the citizenry. Zero complaints, for 70 years in a row. Wow! https://t.co/HOY2RtQXjb
— Keean Bexte (@TheRealKeean) November 26, 2021
Nonetheless, regional director Kevin Halwa considers this conclusive proof that Albertans don’t want local police, preferring the federal norm.
“Not a single person that we talked to is supportive of this move,” Halwa said Thursday.
“And not a single one is believing that this is not going to cost any more.”
Conversely, Alex Puddifant, press secretary to Minister of Justice Kaycee Madu, said Albertans should use their critical thinking skills before believing every poll they come across.
“An unspecified portion of respondents were surveyed before the provincial government released hundreds of pages of independent research that lay out a vision for an Alberta provincial police service that’s cost-effective, responsive to the needs of Albertans and could better address the root causes of crime in our communities,” Puddifant said.
“Furthermore, a massive 53 per cent of respondents live in Calgary and Edmonton – cities not policed by the RCMP, and who aren’t effected (sic) by the pervasive issues of rural crime and long response times,” Puddifant added.
“This poll doesn’t reflect the fact that 47 communities in Alberta with RCMP municipal policing agreements are now grappling with how to pay for the massive policing cost increase resulting from the RCMP’s new collective agreement with its union – including back pay to 2016 – negotiations of which Alberta’s government was not included.”
Indeed, as a much more verbose study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) on behalf of the Alberta government found, a provincial police force would actually be slightly cheaper than the current RCMP.
As The Counter Signal reported last month, “Based on the current state costs and staffing at a 20 per cent RCMP salary increase, the RCMP costs roughly $742 million, with an additional $41 million being spent on Sheriffs Highway Patrol Costs ($783 million total).”
“Conversely, the estimated total costs of a proposed Provincial Police Service are estimated to be either $734 million or $758 million, depending on which of the two proposed staff resource models are pursued.”
Additionally, as Puddifant points out, the study notes that transitioning to a provincial police service could significantly increase the quality of policing by improving service levels and having better community input and connections through innovation, community engagement, and collaboration.
Unfortunately, it appears that the RCMP’s new study is likely a tactical response to the study just mentioned, as it shows they are anything but irreplaceable.
