The provincial government is trying to increase public safety and address the fentanyl crisis.
They are doing so by enhancing law enforcement coordination between the province and municipalities, which the provincial government states is crucial while strengthening the enforcement efforts in the fight against fentanyl and the illicit drug trade.
This unified response amongst the different law enforcement agencies plays a crucial role in efficiently and effectively addressing the fentanyl crisis and its effects on the province.
Due to that, and under request of the provincial government, over 800 community peace officers from across Alberta will be coordinating their operations with their local police to better combat the social disorder that stems from illicit drug use, including fentanyl.
"Under this initiative, community peace officers from 34 large- and mid-sized municipalities will immediately begin to coordinate operations with local police by integrating their communication, their dispatch systems while on patrol and responding to patrols," said the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, Mike Ellis, at a recent media conference.
This unified operational command of community peace officers will be under the leadership of municipal police services and the RCMP, and this will help them in their battle against fentanyl and make Alberta's communities safer.
Not only that, but by increasing the amount of law enforcement members on Alberta's streets, it will create a consistency that is needed to be effective in their battle against crime, social disorder, and illicit drugs, and this closer operational alignment between the police and peace officers plays a key part in the government's approach to creating public safety through cohesive law enforcement across the province.
"We know a law enforcement presence will make a difference. Fentanyl continues to endanger the lives of Albertans and is devastating to families and communities. Crisis demands immediate and unified action," Minister Ellis stated in an accompanying media release. "By aligning the efforts of community peace officers and local police, we are ensuring a coordinated, team response to combat the illicit drug trade to improve public safety. When community peace officers and local police work together in integrated street patrols, we create a visible and unified front against crime."
This initiative is in response to the provincial government stepping up their efforts to work across all levels of government to help address the concerns around fentanyl trafficking and border security, and due to how complex and how severe these issues are, municipalities have already been asked to implement their operational alignment.
Okotoks is one of the participating municipalities.
"We don't really need to make too much of a change here, because we already have a fairly unified command structure. Our RCMP and community [peace] officers have been working together for a number of years, which you see in the joint reports," Mayor Thorn said about this initiative at the Town Council meeting that happened earlier this week.
The Alberta government hopes that peace officers and municipal police working together in street patrols will create a unified front against crime in the province.