After local RCMP detachments switched over to the Alberta First Responder Radio Communications System (AFRRCS) at the end of June, concern has been expressed that communication from the RCMP K-Division is more restricted than before.
As the RCMP continues the switch to the province-owned AFRRCS from the RCMP owned and maintained Province of Alberta Communication System (PACS), the decision to encrypt their channels has left municipal enforcement officers hearing radio silence.
In a statement provided to the Western Wheel, Sgt. Zane Semaniuk, Okotoks RCMP detachment commander, confirmed that the RCMP is utilizing encrypted internal talk groups, and that community peace officers (CPOs) do not have use of RCMP encrypted talk groups.
“CPOs utilizing their own talk groups now share their chosen talk group with the RCMP,” said Semaniuk.
Okotoks, High River, and Turner Valley RCMP made the switch to AFRRCS at the end of June. Okotoks Municipal Enforcement and Fire Services switched to the AFRRCS digital radios in July of 2016 when the system went live, and are in the process of initiating a shared-use agreement to communicate directly through the system.
With the RCMP encrypting their channels on the system, Sgt. Darlene Roblin, protective services coordinator for the Foothills Patrol, said the change means peace officers won’t be able to listen in to local detachments through the radios the way they used to.
Roblin said the Foothills Patrol has concerns about the lack of direct communication, and that this wasn’t just a local issue.
“This is happening across Alberta,” she said. “It’s not a decision made at the detachment level, it’s been made at K-Division for all of Alberta.”
Roblin was unable to comment further on the situation, and said that municipal enforcement was trying to work toward making changes to the policy.
“It’s a sensitive issue and there’s a lot of politics involved in something like this,” she said. “It’s not something we’re pushing directly from our department because this is something coming from K-Division, but the Solicitor General’s office is dealing with this as well.”
The Solicitor General’s office declined to comment on their involvement, and directed inquiries to the Alberta RCMP. The RCMP K-Division did not provide a response to the Wheel by the publication deadline.
According to an Alberta CPO anonymous source, the RCMP detachments also received a directive to no longer share Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database information due to an RCMP internal policy. The RCMP declined to comment on the policy behind the directive.
According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the services, information is to be shared if it is necessary for court disclosure, administrative penalties, or enforcement orders, and if it is in the interest of providing for a co-ordinated and effective level of service to the community.
Previously, communication across the province was limited by each police, fire departments, government agencies, and emergency medical services having had their own standalone radio operations. Under the new system, provincial response to emergencies—such as wildfires—would be seamless.
The provincial two-way radio network aims to reduce cost and improve radio communication among first responders from different agencies. A key point states agencies using AFRRCS are able to fully coordinate responses to emergency scenes.
“AFRRCS has created both regional and provincial Common Event Talk Groups that are intended to be used by all first responders in the given regional area for use during major emergencies,” said Semaniuk.
However, under the RCMP encryption directives, municipal enforcement officers are out of the loop for RCMP activities in their communities.
The anonymous source said that this directive could put municipal enforcement peace officers in potential danger, as they are no longer aware of situations in the community, such as dangerous individuals, that the RCMP may be pursuing. By not being able to hear what the RCMP detachments are doing, peace officers are left to fly blind in major events, such as high speed chases or robberies.
The lack of access to RCMP information is of particular concern in the Foothills, following the death of Rod Lazenby, a peace officer in Foothills County, in 2012 after he was attacked and killed while responding to a call about dogs on a rural property.
Judge Bruce Fraser oversaw a fatality inquiry into Lazenby’s death, and in his report listed four recommendations to address the fatality, to which the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General accepted the first three.
One of the accepted recommendations prohibits CPOs from attending a location alone where there is a known threat, in addition to requiring employers to maintain a list of known threats for reference by dispatchers and peace officers.
Peace officers have access to CPIC through calling the Sheriffs Operational Communications Centre, but that is limited to provincial information.
Peace officers reportedly used to have access to the RCMP’s CPIC database, which includes national and US information, as well as the RCMP’s Police Reporting and Occurrence System (PROS), which has national consolidated and timely information..
Without access to the RCMP’s information, community peace officers’ database on potential threats is limited by people or scenes they have responded to previously and flagged in their system—potentially making regular traffic stops for out-of-province plates or responding to scenes more hazardous than before.
