The need for standard training of police in Alberta remains as strong today as it was in 1999, Solicitor General Frank Oberle said. Oberle said March 23 at the Empress Theatre it makes sense to have basic training done in one place.
“There is definitely room for a more co-ordinated and more efficient training style,” Oberle said. “I believe the place for that is in Fort Macleod.”
Oberle was in Fort Macleod on March 23 to talk about the Alberta Police and Peace Officer Training Centre.
Oberle told the audience he has commitments from all police forces in Alberta to do at least some of their training at the college in Fort Macleod.
“The province has asked me to profile something that would work here,” Oberle said.
The idea of a police college in this province was recommended to government from the 1999 Alberta Justice Summit.
“Training is still not consolidated,” Oberle told the more than 300 people at the Empress Theatre. “No one has made a move to change how we train in Alberta.”
At present the Calgary and Edmonton police services have their own training centres.
Police officer recruits also receive training at Lethbridge College, and the solicitor general’s department has its own centre where sheriffs are trained.
The RCMP continue to train recruits at Depot in Regina.
Oberle told the audience when the police college was first proposed, it was based in part on the contemplation a new Alberta police force would be created. That idea is no longer alive.
“The RCMP are going to be our police force,” Oberle said.
During the question period, Fort Macleod resident James Bilstad asked Oberle why the idea of an Alberta provincial police force had been rejected. Oberle said he is a strong supporter of the RCMP, noting initiatives are under way to have them work closely with the Alberta Sheriffs.
“I am not going to waver from the RCMP as our provincial police force,” Oberle said.
Oberle also told the audience the RCMP has indicated it is willing to train its Alberta recruits at an Alberta police college before sending them to Regina.
The solicitor general noted British Columbia has enhanced its police training centre in Chilliwack and is building a new one in the Okanagan. The RCMP also continues to rely heavily on Depot for its training.
“I do want to build something that works in concert with the others, not in competition,” Oberle said.