Grande Prairie police take over from RCMP in the city

The Grande Prairie Police Service took over policing in the northern Alberta city from the RCMP at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, two years ahead of schedule, and will now answer all police calls within city limits.

The handover was marked with a ceremony and new signs at the service’s headquarters, the former RCMP detachment, My Grande Prairie Now and CBC News reported. It is the first new municipal police service formed in an Alberta city since Camrose in 1956.

“It was incredible to wake up to realize that we’ve achieved this two years ahead of schedule,” Chief Dwayne Lakusta said. The service has 80 sworn officers after its latest recruit class graduated this month, with about an even split between experienced officers and new recruits, he said.

City council voted to create the service in March 2023, and its officers have worked alongside the RCMP since 2024 while the service recruited and trained staff and built its systems. The RCMP had been the city’s police of jurisdiction since 1943.

Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis announced another $2 million for the transition, mainly for the city’s new Public Safety Communication Centre, which handles both police and fire dispatch and began operating Wednesday morning. Ellis said the province has now put about $19 million toward the switch. Mayor Jackie Clayton estimated the total cost of the transition at about $23 million.

“Today marks a significant milestone for the City of Grande Prairie,” Clayton said, adding that the transition would not have happened so quickly without the province’s support. She said local policing means “local oversight and local input” through the Grande Prairie Police Commission, whose meetings are open to the public.

Mount Royal University criminology professor Kelly Sundberg told CBC News he expects more Alberta communities to consider their own police services as the province builds its own provincial force.

For more from across the province, see our Alberta towns page and our coverage of the CFB Wainwright fire.

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