Criminals targeting rural areas will have to nervously look over their shoulder, thanks to two new surveillance teams implemented by the provincial government.
Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis announced the deployment of two surveillance teams on Thursday. One is operational in northern Alberta, and one in southern Alberta. Although the announcement was made on Thursday, the teams have been operational for six weeks.
These teams, funded by a $4.3 million investment, aim to support local police in surveilling criminal targets. The investment is part of the $27.3 million dedicated to boost the Alberta Sheriffs operational capacity, announced with Alberta’s 2023 budget.
The Alberta Sheriffs and RCMP both have their own surveillance units; however, they focus primarily on serious and organized crime investigations.
“Two new surveillance teams are filling a gap by helping rural RCMP detachments with local investigations to combat local crime,” said Ellis.
Assistant Commissioner for the RCMP Trevor Daroux said the federal police agency was happy to hear the news.
“Addressing rural crime is one of the top priorities of the Alberta RCMP, and our partners at the Alberta Sheriffs already play a vital role in keeping Albertans safe,” said Daroux. “The creation of these new surveillance teams will help augment our ongoing crime reduction strategies in Alberta communities.”
Break-ins committed by prolific offenders and fuel thefts from farmers are examples of crimes targeted by the new surveillance units.
“Their addition will significantly enhance law enforcement’s ability to surveil criminals and suspected criminals in rural areas where there is often little capacity to do so,” said Ellis.
Both teams are fully staffed and operational.
“We’re sending a message. The message to convicted and prospective offenders is that you are not welcome here. Crime is not welcome in any Alberta community — rural, urban, or remote,” said Ellis.
While he said that the provincial government is taking action on rural crime, he reiterated the province’s commitment to call on the Liberals to address bail reform to protect public safety.
The superintendent of Alberta sheriffs, Mike Letourneau, joined Ellis at the press conference. He said that each team is composed of one sergeant and seven sheriffs, all of whom have extensive training and experience in specialized surveillance. Some of the sheriffs have as much as 17 years of experience.
“They’ll be available to help police gather intelligence and information on known and suspected offenders and obtain evidence that will help lead to charges in court,” he said.
Ellis said that while talking to MLAs who represent rural Alberta, he observed that crime tops their list of concerns.
The new surveillance units function as support, and generally have an RCMP member or police agency member attached to them.
Letourneau said that smaller towns with one to three RCMP members working there would partner with surveillance units to help surveil and arrest suspects during break and enters and similar crimes.
“Criminals often view these smaller communities, rural areas, as places where they can conduct their criminal activities away from the watchful eye of law enforcement,” said Letourneau. “But their perception is misconstrued as we take yet one more step to protect public safety throughout the province.”