Despite previous reports of the new RCMP location moving to the Heartland community because of the number of calls “west on Highway 1A,” the town could not confirm the stats.
At the Oct. 11 council meeting, Mike Korman, economic development manager with the town, stated that the location for the new RCMP detachment was “ideal” because “95 per cent of their calls come from west on Highway 1A” – despite not having concrete numbers to back the statement up.
As previously reported by the Eagle, the purchase of the 2.095 acres of land, located along Highway 1A in the existing Heartland community, was unanimously approved by council at the recent council meeting as part of the 10 Year Financial Strategy for the Town.
The location was chosen by a selection committee comprised of an RCMP Task Force and the Protective Services Advisory committee who reviewed several possible locations and selected the one in Heartland based on multiple selection criteria, primarily the proximity to both major highways, according to administration.
When questioned about the “95 per cent” of calls statement, the town said it could not confirm the percentage.
“Unfortunately, the statement that occurred was more anecdotal, we don’t know if we can validate it,” said Tracey Radloff, senior manager of human resources and communication services with the town. “We cannot provide statistics from in town versus out of town calls.”
Radloff did note that municipal RCMP officers and rural RCMP officers do work together and the Cochrane detachment covers a very large region.
Cochrane RCMP Const. Jennifer Brewer said the RCMP could not supply the statistics for in-town calls versus out of town calls either.
The new RCMP detachment is a project taken on by the town as part of a contractual agreement with the RCMP requiring Cochrane to build a detachment for municipal service.
The current RCMP building, located at 359 First Street East, is federally owned while the new building will be municipally owned and operated. Administration said it will be open to discussions with Alberta’s RCMP K Division to host both municipal and rural members in the building.
“We intend to build a Post detachment that provides the benefit of having municipal and rural members together, in addition to other relevant agencies; this is the model we have in place now,” Radloff explained in an email.
The $10.8 million building is 100 per cent the town’s ownership and obligation, with $2.8 million being covered from a MSI capital grant.
Cochrane currently employs 20 municipal members that serve the town, in addition to multiple rural members that may provide further support in town if needed.
