ST. PAUL – The Town of St. Paul passed the first reading of a bylaw to create a Municipal Policing Committee during a regular council meeting on July 28.
The new committee, which is required by the province per the Police Amendment Act 2022, will not have control over police operations but will advise policing priorities and policies, Director of Protective Services Trevor Kotowich, told council.
“The idea of the policing committee is to be the eyes and ears of the community,” related to annual priorities, procedures, and objectives of the police, said Kotowich. In this case, that would be the St. Paul RCMP detachment.
Asked for some clarification if the committee have the ability to create policing policies, Kotowich said the committee is similar to recreation boards, with the only difference being that the policing committee is legislated to exist by the province.
“This committee is not a decision-making body. They are to provide recommendations to council to help guide you in your decision making,” Kotowich said. “Municipal policing committee does not supersede the elected officials at all.”
It would still be up to the town council if any recommendations from the committee were carried out.
Kotowich said it is important to clarify the committee will exist only as an advisory body and will not have an “oversight” role over the police.
As per the Police Amendment Act, municipal policing committees are limited from three to seven members appointed by a municipal council. Kotowich recommended to have four members of the public and one representative from the council.
“I want to keep it small . . . functional,” to begin with, he said, and potentially add more seats in the future.
Mayor Maureen Miller agreed. Speaking on how the committee will operate, she said, “There will be changes as we find efficiencies and input as we go through.”
With the upcoming municipal election, Kotowich recognized it can be challenging to form a committee right away, “But I think if we have the building blocks created prior to October, then this should be a seamless transition.”
The 2025 Alberta municipal elections will be held on Oct. 20.
