Pubdate: Sun, 29 Nov 2015
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2015 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Matt Dykstra
Pages: 2-3

ALERT UNDER THE KNIFE

Specialized umbrella police agency braces for severe funding cut

A severe funding crunch has Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams
(ALERT) under the gun.

The looming cuts at Alberta's specialized umbrella police agency have
prompted the NDP government to review "critical" services and critics
to warn of a potential surge in organized crime and deadly fentanyl in
the province.

Created in 2006, ALERT is a not-for-profit umbrella organization
uniting municipal police forces, the Alberta Sheriffs and RCMP under a
host of integrated units for monitoring province-wide gang activity,
drug trafficking, criminal intelligence, domestic violence, and child
exploitation.

While ALERT maintained past operations using a combination of
provincial dollars and federal grant money, provincial funding has
dropped 30 per cent over the past three years and the remainder of the
federal grant funds held in reserve dried up in 2015-16.

Running an operating budget of over $38 million in 2012, ALERT
received $26.5 million in funding in 2015.

As a result, ALERT ran a high vacancy rate this year and now expects
to lose 70 of its 268 funded positions next year.

Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said the government recently
completed an audit of the agency's managerial structure in conjunction
with ALERT's board and the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police.

ALERT funding for 2016 has yet to be decided but the minister said
she's aware the province will likely be the sole source of income for
ALERT's operations in 2016.

"The functions that ALERT performs are critical and we think a lot of
the work they do is very, very important but it's just a matter of
making sure that's done in the best way possible and making sure that
it meets the needs of Albertans and the needs of our police partners,"
she said, pledging to find a way to maintain the 70 frontline positions.

"This is not a time to be having fewer police officers on the
streets."

ALERT had a record year in 2014 after it seized $48.5 million in
street value narcotics, including 70,000 grams of cocaine, 13,000
marijuana plants and 18,000 fentanyl pills. Fentanyl was deemed
responsible for 145 deaths in the province during the first six months
of 2015.

Wildrose Leader Brian Jean, who himself lost a young family member to
fentanyl, said the bad economy means more vulnerable Albertans are
likely to turn to drugs to cope and any drop in ALERT staff means
families and communities will suffer "significant consequences."

"This is a huge step back for policing in Alberta and a huge step
forward for organized crime," he said.

"I'm actually shocked that this government wouldn't step up and
restore funding to their operations at a level that acknowledges their
success."

Liberal Leader David Swann said the situation "raises a lot of
concerns" and hopes both the province and the federal government can
find a way to restore funding, especially in light of the crisis in
opiates and fentanyl

"They're part of that comprehensive solution we need," said Swann,
adding a "substantial" investment in supports for youth mental health
and addictions is also required to deter young people from taking
drugs or joining gangs.

ALERT has seized over $18 million in drugs so far in 2015, including a
bust in Grande Prairie this week that resulted nine arrests as well as
the seizure of nearly a kilogram of cocaine and almost $100,000 cash.
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MAP posted-by: Matt