Grande Prairie City Council has refined the details regarding how the city will move forward with the to-be-established police commission. During the March 27th Council and Committee of the Whole meeting, council members voted for the recruitment committee to recommend seven to 12 possible members, including the two councillors and/or city staff members. Council also voted in favour of city residency being a consideration but not a requirement when it comes to choosing those who will be on the independent commission, which will oversee the police force from an “arm’s length.”
Ahead of the March 27th meeting, Executive Director of Emergency Services Chris Manuel said council was receiving a report which looked at the other seven municipalities across the province which had an established police commission, including Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge.
“Who pays people, who doesn’t pay people, who has local appointees, who has external appointees, [looking at] those sorts of questions,” Manuel says.
Moving forward with the recruitment process, city council has directed administration to proceed using the guidelines put forward in the draft Grande Prairie Police Commission Recruitment and Selection Policy, and the draft Grande Prairie Police Commission Competency Framework. Following these outlines, the recruitment process will be “coordinated by a combination of City Human Resources and City Clerk,” with council still having to determine who will be part of the recruitment committee. In addition a subcommittee, including members of council and administration, will be included in interviews during the recruitment process.
On March 20th city council approved the bylaw, allowing the city to move forward with establishing the commission. Those who are appointed to the commission can serve up to a three-year term.
