Police reform and the division of labour in Alberta
A couple of weeks ago, the Alberta government reopened the discussion regarding a provincial police force with the introduction of Bill 11.
After maintaining radio silence on the topic for much of the past year, it has now taken a first concrete step toward reforming policing in the province. This is something the United Conservative Party government has been eyeing since 2020
When police respond to a call, a mountain of paperwork must be filed. Sometimes, several reports are needed for a single event. Some 40 per cent of officers’ time is spent on administration.
What this means is that close to half of the average shift is spent writing reports and completing other paperwork. This translates to more than six million hours per year across the province spent on tasks other than protecting the public and preventing crime.
