Kevin Laliberte
Editor, Smoky River Express

It’s reassuring to see the Government of Alberta taking positive steps to tackle the serious problem of repeat offenders as part of its enhanced crime reduction plan. Premier Ed Stelmach announced the emergence of a new initiative last week which is specifically aimed at fostering increased coordination among law enforcement, courts and probation officers to identify, monitor and share information regarding the relatively small number of repeat offenders directly responsible for a large percentage of crime in Alberta communities. “Albertans expect and deserve to have safe communities and this initiative is just another example of how we’re delivering on our crime reduction plan,” says Premier Stelmach. He says the new plan sends a clear message to repeat offenders that their actions will no longer be tolerated, adding that providing supervision and support to help them turn their lives around is a fundamental part of the province’s solution in terms of addressing the problem. Here’s how it all shakes down. The first year of the program will see 60 repeat offenders from Edmonton, Calgary, and other centres in Alberta targeted through the new initiative. Police, Alberta sheriffs and probation officers will work jointly by closely monitoring or supervising the offenders while in the community. Information from that process with then be provided to a central office which will prepare and continuously update comprehensive bail packages for Crown prosecutors. “We are putting in place a more effective way to target the 15 per cent of criminals who commit 60 per cent of the crime,” said Fred Lindsay, Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security. “This project provides a more focused and comprehensive approach to the serious problem of repeat offenders while giving offenders a chance to break the cycle of offending and re-victimizing Albertans.” And that’s serious food for thought given the serious burden which repeat offenders place on police, our courts and our communities. The project team includes police members from RCMP, Edmonton Police Service and Calgary Police Service as well as three probation officers and nine Alberta sheriffs. All of these law enforcement agencies will be part of the project package which translates into a $10.4 million crime prevention investment over the next three years through the Safe Communities Secretariat. The introduction of the crime prevention strategy will also see the government address the growing need for additional personnel on the front lines. Recruitment receives a boost The province is recruiting 110 new probation officers and 183 new police officers while adding 20 new addiction treatment beds and establishing two new Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods units which will be responsible for investigating properties used for illegal activities such as drugs, gangs and prostitution. Four new dedicated gang enforcement teams will be established across Alberta. Operating in and around Calgary and Edmonton, as well as northern and southern Alberta, these integrated teams of 67 RCMP and municipal police will target individuals and gangs involved in the drug trade. All of the new police resources are expected to be in place on April 1, 2009.

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