Thread by @TheBreakdownAB

Scoop!

Danielle Smith says that she wants to bring a Provincial Police force because the RCMP can't keep boots on the ground.

But what about the Alberta Sherrifs?

We filed a FOIP and you can come along for the ride!

/1

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

Going back to 2024, the RCMP called out Smith for presenting inaccurate vacancy numbers.

Here's that story via CTV.

/2

ctvnews.ca/edmonton/artic…

So 124 unfilled positions & 182 officers on leave for a total vacanacy rate of 17.3%.

But what happens if we take a closer look?

“Hard Vacancies” (fully unfilled positions) sit at 6.99%.

“Soft Vacancies” (vacancies created by leaves of) are at 10.27%.

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When Danielle Smith launched her border patrol we couldn’t help but notice that the photo ops of the new border patrol included members from Corrections and Fish and Wildlife.

Which got us to wondering…

What are the Sherrif’s vacancies rates like?

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So we filed a FOIP!

According to the government of Alberta, the total vacancy rate for the Sheriffs is 14%.

But wait...

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That’s only 3.3% lower than the RCMP.

What about their "hard and soft” vacancies?

For Sherrifs, the hard vacancy is 8%.

That’s actually higher than the RCMP at 6.99%

Yup, according to government numbers, they have more completely unfilled positions than the RCMP.

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Given the fact that Smith and Ellis regularly complain about not enough officers being available on the ground, what happens when we take a look at the actual vacancy rate for Sherrifs able to respond to calls?

And that department is going to be the Sherrifs Highway Patrol.

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What’s their current vacancy rate?

Their soft vacancy rate is 6.7%.

Their hard vacancy rate?

22.5%.

So when it comes to boots on the ground, the Alberta Sherrifs have a vacancy rate of 1 in 5.

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The numbers for the Sherrifs are all as of July 1st BTW, so there is a slight gap in time between the RCMP's numbers and the Sherrifs, but a 1 in 5 vacancy rate isn't the win that Smith is presenting it as.

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But you have to wonder why it is then that Smith and CO are so aggressively pursuing their own police force.

Perhaps it’s worth remembering at this point that Smith is on the record saying that she wants a police force that she can set the enforcement priorities on.

/9

You know, kinda like trying to reach into the prosecution of a border seditionist or having a justice minister try to influence the elections commissioner in determining what sort of referendum questions are unconstitutional.

/fin