Some Alberta towns are taking notice as the province builds its new Alberta Sheriffs Police Service (ASPS). For places like Rocky Mountain House, a town about 200 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, the new force offers a potential solution to lower costs and a desire to have town-focused policing.
Following a recent presentation by ASPS representatives, the town’s council is formally exploring an expression of interest with the provincial service as an alternative to its current RCMP contract.
Rocky Mountain House Mayor Shane Boniface said over the last few years he has observed that officers are often pulled out of town to respond to calls in surrounding rural communities. To address this, the town spent $60,000 in grant money on a consultant in 2025 to explore building its own police force.
However, the report concluded the town couldn’t afford a standalone force and recommended sticking with the RCMP.
“We have the majority of the council wishing to look at other options for policing in our community,” Boniface said, noting the town currently spends roughly $2 million annually on its RCMP contract.
Boniface said the ASPS pitch highlighted potential lower costs and a focus on policing within town limits, with surrounding rural areas continuing to be policed by the RCMP.
“That does not mean that we’re going to go in that direction,” he said, continuing that the town is waiting for exact cost figures in the coming months.
“Then we can compare,” Boniface said. “What does the RCMP offer for our community? What do the sheriffs offer for our community? Which one’s the best value?”
Because transitioning away from the RCMP would be a major change, Boniface said council will deliberate and plan to hold public engagement sessions before making any final decisions.
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In a statement to CBC News, an ASPS spokesperson said the agency continues to build toward operational readiness, following new legislation this spring, by engaging with municipalities and Indigenous communities to understand local needs.
“The ASPS is being developed to augment and support existing police services by building additional policing capacity,” the spokesperson wrote. “Once operational, the service will help strengthen public safety and support communities across the province.”
In an email statement, Alberta RCMP spokesperson Corporal Mathew Howell said the Rocky Mountain House detachment has 10 municipally funded members policing the town, alongside provincially funded positions in the surrounding region.
The detachment uses a “post-model” strategy to ensure 24/7 coverage, meaning municipally funded officers do sometimes respond to calls outside of town, and provincially funded officers occasionally handle work within Rocky Mountain House.
“We are flexible and will work with our partners to ensure the service delivery model aligns with community expectations including reviewing / re-visiting post-model deployment strategies,” Howell said.
Rocky Mountain House, a town with a population of 8,000, isn’t alone. Other small towns, such as Coaldale and Hardisty, have also shown interest in ASPS detachments.
Howell said the RCMP fully supports municipal leaders evaluating their services, but pointed to its ability to offer better value and specialized federal support — like major crime and real-time operations units — that come at no direct cost to the town.
“As was the case during the recent tornado that impacted the town of Rocky Mountain House,” he continued.
According to a Statistics Canada report released July 22, the municipality’s Crime Severity Index dropped by nearly 44 per cent in 2025, which Howell pointed to as a positive reflection of the RCMP’s work in the area.
Doug King, a criminology professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, believes the majority of smaller municipalities remain committed to the RCMP. A 2023 survey of rural municipalities showed about 66 per cent had a high level of trust in the region’s Mounties.
While the ASPS could be an option for many smaller towns, King cautioned that there are still a lot of unknowns.
“Who pays for the vehicles? Who does the training?” King said. “It’s still very much in a developing stage.”
“So we just have to wait and see.”
