It wasn’t long ago that the Lethbridge Police Service introduced a watch program that will see volunteer civilians walk through downtown streets in an effort to increase safety and reduce crime. Now, another group with similar goals is being introduced.
“This is the first police service in Alberta to implement the peace officer program, and this has the full support of the Alberta government,” Lethbridge mayor Chris Spearman said of the new community peace officers (CPO).
While it may have the government’s stamp of approval, some people are voicing concerns about the initiative.
Jay McMillan, the president of the Lethbridge Police Association, said CPOs having the authority to make arrests for various offences, while only being in possession of pepper spray and a baton, is a major cause for concern.
“One of the paramount concerns is for the public’s safety, but it’s also for officer safety… be that Lethbridge police or community peace officers,” McMillan said. “They both have an obligation to act when called upon to do so.”
“The police have all the equipment to do so, and all the training and experience to do so… the community peace officer, as it stands now, isn’t equipped to the fullest extent and doesn’t have a full use for force options.”
McMillan’s concerns are not shared by Lethbridge’s police chief.
“If you look at the transit police in Vancouver, they started the special constable program,” Rob Davis said. “If you look in Ontario, special constable has been used in the province extensively… there’s tons of examples across this country where it does work without compromising safety.”
The Lethbridge Police Association said it is not against the idea of CPOs, they are just unsatisfied with some of the details about the initiative.
“The expansion into Criminal Code authorities is where we have some concerns,” McMillan said. “It may be an overstep and the infrastructure may not be in place.
“The plan has not been sound and it was rushed to this point.”
The first wave of CPOs are scheduled to start this week.