Rocky View County (RVC) council recently approved administration’s request to enter into an agreement with Alberta Justice and the Solicitor General for a third enhanced RCMP position for the southeast part of the county. The new position will be based out of the Strathmore RCMP detachment, and will be similar to the established enhanced positions operating out of Airdrie and Cochrane.
“All the positions are unique to the area they are being brought in to police,” said Lorraine Wesley-Riley, manager of Enforcement Services with RVC. “Now that the position has been approved, the next step is to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the RCMP “K” division for the position.”
According to Wesley-Riley, the memorandums are “fairly generic,” with the exception of one section where RVC can specify what duties it wants to see as a part of the enhanced position. Because of the expansive nature of the county, each area may have different needs or concerns to be addressed.
“There will always be a bit of variance in what the County expects from these positions, because the needs are unique to each part of the county,” she said. “We look at each memorandum of understanding on a yearly basis, to make sure they continue to meet the needs of what the County requires, and to update and modify them wherever needed.”
The first enhanced position RVC created was in Cochrane in 2007, thanks to involvement from the Elbow Valley Community Association. Wesley-Riley said the position was initially created as a result of calls for service that “were not dealt with in the manner that was expected by the community,” and the enhanced position was intended to help address the issues.
“Really, it’s just about growth,” she said. “We made the request for a second position in Airdrie in 2009, and this is our third, in Strathmore. One of the big things is just about having someone delegated to and responsible for community groups in these areas, like Rural Crime Watch.”
The positions are funded through RVC’s Emergency Services Levy, and each position is filled for a three-year term.
“If people have any specific concerns, they can contact me at the County Office so we can look at the issue and assess it,” Wesley-Riley said. “We are looking at the needs in the Langdon, Conrich areas so that we can make the request in our memorandum of understanding, but we haven’t quite gotten to that point yet. The County is constantly refining the policing needs of our communities, and this position is the latest addition to County services.”
