Alberta Premier Danielle Smith appointed a former deputy Calgary police chief to become the head of the province’s newly announced police force.
Sat Parhar will lead the new police force, which is tentatively called the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service.
Smith said the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service isn’t designed to replace the RCMP. However, municipalities will have the option to contract the new service in lieu of the Mounties.
According to Smith, “a couple” of municipalities have already made inquiries with the province regarding the option.
Headquartered in Calgary, the new force will also aid certain RCMP detachments that are in need of additional support.
“We want to make sure that everybody feels that they’ve got the policing that they need close to home,” Smith told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday.
“Just like most other police services in the province, it will be run separately from the government with civilian oversight.”
Part of the reason for the provincial police force is to prepare for the uncertainty of the future of community policing after Ottawa’s existing contracts with the RCMP expire in 2032.
“Alberta’s government is preparing and acting instead of waiting and reacting,” said Smith. “Our goal is to put solutions in place before serious challenges develop.”
Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said earlier this year that Alberta set aside $6 million to hire the new service’s chief, senior staff and cover initial setup costs.
The province also committed $29 million for sheriffs to increase Alberta’s border security.
Alberta had roughly 1,200 sheriffs as of April, who oversee duties such as inmate transportation, enforcing traffic laws, investigating drug trafficking and gang-related crimes, among other tasks.
While about half of the province’s existing sheriffs also perform duties akin to those of police officers, it’s not yet known how many will be transferred to the new agency.
“The new agency was always intended to assume police-like duties currently performed by the Alberta Sheriffs,” said press secretary Arthur Green. “Planning work is ongoing and we will provide further information once decisions have been made.”
Parhar, who was also present for the announcement, retired from the Calgary Police Service in 2019.
Smith said Parhar embodied the leadership skills and experience required to build out the new service from scratch.
“We are building a police service that reflects Alberta, its people, its communities and its future,” said Parhar, whose first order of business will be hiring an executive team.
The new chief will then develop standards for recruitment, training and operations.