A recent dialogue between Drumheller elected officials and the Solicitor General of Alberta may help pave the way for a provincially/federally funded RCMP officer to be stationed full time at the Drumheller Institution.
At the most recent Alberta Urban Municipal Association meeting, Councillor Jay Garbutt had the opportunity to speak with the Honorable Jonathan Denis, Solicitor General and Minister of Public Safety of Alberta.
“I got a chance to ask the minister is there an opportunity for partnership here, given that it is in the Province of Alberta’s and the Government of Canada’s best interests a position such as this exist,” said Garbutt.
From that initial meeting, Garbutt was referred to an assistant who encouraged the Town of Drumheller to send a letter outlining the proposal.
“He was at least interested in finding out more and one of his assistants was able to follow up,” said Garbutt.
So far, no response has been received.
The request came from discussions over the past five years about having an RCMP member full time at the penitentiary, one that would be funded by the provincial or federal governments.
“We’ve been asking for a provincially funded member for the penitentiary since I arrived here in 2007,” said Staff Sergeant Art Hopkins. “We’ve demonstrated to the various levels of government there is a need.”
The Drumheller RCMP currently have a member at the penitentiary on a part time basis. The goal is to gather intelligence on activity, such as gangs, in the penitentiary, and handle offenses that occur there.
Generally, offenses, such as assault, were only punished by removing privileges and is not reflected on the inmate’s criminal record. Due to the presence of an officer part time, crimes at the institution have been prosecuted.
“There have been an extra 4,470 months of penalties awarded to inmates over the past three years. That’s a significant amount," said Staff Sergeant Hopkins.
The benefits of having a member at the penitentiary part time comes at a cost. The member is funded by the Town of Drumheller and the time at the penitentiary takes away from duties in and around Drumheller.
Garbutt added the burden for a federal institution should not fall at a municipal level.
“I’m just not sure the tax payers of Drumheller should be paying that cost. It sounds like the people of Alberta and Canada would all equally benefit, so why should we pay?” said Garbutt.
It is hoped a response will arrive shortly and a dialogue will continue so the officers working part time at the institution can focus on other areas, such as school resource officers, community policing, and crime prevention.
