Police commission warns of possible cuts to provincial crime team

The chair of the police commission warned city council Thursday that the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) is bracing for possible provincial funding cuts, which would have a big impact on the fight against organized crime.

Shami Sandu, who chairs ALERT and the police commission, told council the organization could face a 25-per-cent cut next year.

ALERT employs 280 officers across the province to fight organized crime including gangs, drug trafficking and child exploitation. Forty of those officers are in Edmonton.

But Natalie Kenrick, a public affairs officer for the justice ministry, said funding for ALERT will remain the same in 2015. She could not say if the government plans to make cuts down the road.

Police Chief Rod Knecht said if the province does make cuts to the program, it will be up to Edmonton police to investigate complex cases involving organized crime.

If the funding for ALERT is retracted, that falls on the shoulders of the Edmonton Police Service to fill that gap, he said.

That requires increased training costs, that requires more folks within the Edmonton police service focusing on those specific issues."

More police needed, says Knecht

Police are already asking for 84 new officers to be funded as part of the citys 2015 operating budget in order to deal with increased workload and the demands of a rapidly growing city.

If council approves the request, it will amount to a one per cent tax increase.

Mayor Don Iveson said the province needs to pay for community safety and police in Edmonton. Right now, the province pays for only 6.8 per cent of the citys overall police budget.

Paying for ... the policing costs in Edmonton which is really effectively policing the worst of the challenges in Northern Alberta from addictions, to mental health, to organized crime, to human trafficking, to cybercrime, to counter terrorism you know, thats just unacceptable for Edmonton taxpayers to continue to bear the load, Iveson said.

City council will debate the police budget this week. Meanwhile, the mayor is also putting pressure on the provincial government to contribute.

We need those police positions funded in the short term, I just think its time for the provincial government to step up with those investments in community safety around prevention, Iveson said.