A Mountain View County (MVC) call for community peace officers to be given greater access to police database information during traffic stops is now being consider by provincial government officials.
The Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) is a database used by police forces across the country to access up-to-date information on offender status and criminal activities.
Community peace officers, including those employed by municipalities in rural Alberta, do not currently have direct access to CPIC information.
Last fall MVC put forward a resolution through the Rural Municipalities of Alberta Association (RMA) calling for community peace officers to be given access to the CPIC system.
Such access would, for example, give officers information on criminal records held by drivers they may pull over.
That resolution was passed by RMA members at the November annual general meeting.
Al Kemmere, the RMA president and a Mountain View County councillor, says the resolution has now been sent to RCMP officials and the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General for consideration.
“I’m hoping it will lead to some changes,” said Kemmere. “It may be a process that’s bigger than we think, because we may have to assess our training capabilities of community peace officers to make sure that they have the appropriate training and security to be able to do it (access CPIC information), but that would be looked after through the process.
“It’s a safety thing as much as anything. Getting as much information as possible is important so when the officers are pulling people over they’ve got an idea of what they are walking into. I think it would definitely help. It’s about safety for the officers as much as anything.”
The resolution specifically calls on the “Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General to work with Canadian Police Information Centre, and any other ministry necessary to provide direct, mobile and timely CPIC access to community peace officers that can be used as a proactive and preventative tool within defined guidelines.”
The background note accompanying the resolution states, in part, that, “Granting enhanced and timely access to CPIC for community peace officers would provide municipalities added flexibility to determine their internal processes and protocols for community peace officers when dealing with the public.
“It would provide a potential for increase in safety of employees as well as operational efficiencies of the organization. It is the intent of this resolution to provide additional support to efforts to have this issue resolved for the safety of all community peace officers in Alberta.”
Giving community peace officers access to CPIC would increase overall public safety, said Kemmere.
“While community peace officers typically seek to avoid solo intervention into dangerous situations, there are times when a seemingly low-risk situation can escalate unexpectedly,” said Kemmere.
“For this reason, having access to CPIC would provide significant safety benefits for community peace officers.”
