Police across Alberta executed over 1,000 warrants targeting top offenders throughout the province.
According to a news release by Alberta RCMP, all police forces in the province have entered an information-sharing agreement that allows intelligence and statistics to be routinely shared between the agencies.
"This sharing enables police agencies in Alberta to have a true understanding of the priority offenders that are causing the most harm, not only within individual policing jurisdictions but across the province," wrote Alberta RCMP.
Between November 17 and November 30, the Joint Forces warrant apprehension team executed 1,005 warrants associated with 948 different offenders. Police say the warrants ranged from petty theft and drug trafficking to robbery and sexual offences.
In Calgary and southern Alberta, 177 warrants were executed, which led to 88 arrests.
Some of the offenders included a 55-year-old Calgary man who had over 40 charges related to property crime and a 28-year-old woman from Cold Lake who had over 50 interactions with police in the last year and a half.
"Law enforcement needs to work together to ensure that jurisdictional borders do not impede our ability to catch the criminals causing the most harm across Alberta,” said Superintendent Mike McCauley of the Alberta RCMP.
“A small percentage of criminals cause a significant amount of harm across the province, and by using data to drive our work as we do in operations like these, the impact is incredible."
The agreement was made after Alberta RCMP recognized that all law enforcement agencies were ranking priority offenders in different ways. It was determined that a province-wide model to prioritize individuals would be required.
The Joint Forces Operation was made between Alberta RCMP, Calgary Police Service, and Alberta Sheriffs.