A shift to a new provincial police service will cost Albertans hundreds of millions more in transition and operational costs. This money would be far better spent addressing the priorities and concerns of Albertans by investing in the Alberta RCMP, the criminal justice system, and healthcare and mental health supports.
Replacing the RCMP would forfeit $188 million annually, currently paid by the federal government which funds 30% of Alberta’s RCMP policing costs. This would need to be borne by Alberta taxpayers.
Alberta taxpayers and municipalities would be on the hook for the full cost of provincial policing, plus transition costs. Combined with the lost federal contributions, transition costs are currently estimated to be over $550 million. Based on actual costs in other jurisdictions, this could double, triple, or worse.
The Province’s proposed police service model would cost Alberta taxpayers $164 million more in operational costs annually than the existing Alberta RCMP, for only 56 more police officers. For the same investment, the Government could add 600+ more RCMP officers to serve Albertans.
Review the current RCMP model versus the Proposed APPS model