CARSTAIRS – Council has been updated on the multi-municipality $150,000 regional policing study now underway in the district.
The review came during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
The study is looking at the possibility of a police detachment being established in Carstairs to serve the town and surrounding areas.
“This is going to be ongoing for the next three to four months,” said Rick Blair, chief administrative officer.
“Until we get all the information and they do all their due diligence and put the study to together, we will have these updates every two to three weeks,” he said.
The Didsbury RCMP detachment currently serves Carstairs and area.
Work on the study completed to date includes several stakeholder interviews and focus groups with the Town of Didsbury, Town of Crossfield, Town of Carstairs, Didsbury RCMP and Southern Alberta District RCMP, council heard.
“That is what we are looking at with our neighbours,” he said.
“We wanted to take a look at what a regional model would look like if Carstairs was to get a detachment and what is the best way to police our whole area. That is why we got the grant to do the study.”
The municipalities have received a $150,000 provincial grant for the study.
Other work completed so far includes the assignment of an MNP analyst and a senior consultant to the project team, development of a data collection framework, collection and analysis of community profile information from area municipalities, including Mountain View County.
Research into regional policing best practices and innovative approaches has also been undertaken.
Work planned but not yet completed includes additional interviews and focus groups required to complete the stakeholder engagement, including to engage stakeholders from Mountain View County and the Village of Cremona.
“The project manager will ensure moving forward the bi-weekly updates are submitted to the regional committee,” he said.
The regional policing study is also tied to the town’s ongoing census.
“We have to do the census to prove that we are over 5,000 people. At 5,000 people you would get your own detachment in our municipality,” he said.
The census is nearing completion, with more than 97 per cent of households now surveyed, he said.
“We are getting close,” he said. “I think we only have about 45 households still to go. It’s not done yet, but we are sitting at 5,200 right now.
“Until it goes to Municipal Affairs and is verified, it’s unofficial.”
The study should be completed within the next six months, he said.
Council received the update on the regional policy study as information.
