News briefs

Crime Prevention Week

The 14th annual Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security Crime Prevention Awards were a highlight of Alberta Crime Prevention Week May 8 – 15, 2005. At this year’s awards, Honourable Harvey Cenaiko congratulated eight individuals, three community organizations, one business and one police officer.

MLA review on Special Constables

In March 2005, Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security, Harvey Cenaiko, appointed MLA Art Johnston to lead a review of the province’s special constable program. The special constable program forms an integral part of the law enforcement continuum in Alberta. Through the Police Act, Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security is able to provide special constable appointments to individuals employed by municipal, provincial and federal governments and other public bodies. Through this process, special constables fulfill a diverse set of roles, duties and responsibilities relating to law enforcement. The review has included fact-finding missions to Arizona, Nevada, England, Ireland, Ontario and Quebec. Legislation and regulations are currently being developed and will be introduced to the Legislative Assembly by the spring of 2006.

New name for Alberta Solicitor General

Effective June 2, 2005 the department was re-named Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security to emphasize the ministry’s goal of ensuring safe and secure communities. The increases in global terrorist activity, organized crime, gang violence and Internet child exploitation have heightened public concerns about individual and community safety and the new name reflects the department’s commitment to targeting these types of criminal activity.

MLA review on Private Investigators and Security Guards

Calgary-Foothills MLA Len Webber has been appointed by Alberta Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security Harvey Cenaiko to initiate a comprehensive review of the private security industry in order to modernize the legislation and determine how the industry will be integrated into the overall strategy for public safety. Areas to be reviewed include: parameters for licensing (who should be licensed), legal authority, duties and responsibilitie, minimum qualifications and training standards. The review will include extensive consultation with industry stakeholders. The final report will be used by the Government of Alberta for review and consideration in drafting legislative changes.

Alberta first to offer protective vests to corrections staff

Frontline workers in provincial jails and remand centers will soon be outfitted with stab resistant protective vests. It will mark the first time anywhere in Canada this type of body armour will be made available to all frontline correctional staff. Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security plans to have the news vests in the hands of Alberta’s 1,100 correctional officers and correctional service workers by late fall of this year.

Calgary Courts Centre

We are making exciting progress on Calgary’s new courthouse.

As part of this enormous project to make a new home for the courts in Calgary, we are also working to maintain the history of our existing courthouses. Large brass doors, sandstone arches, brass and wooden railings are some of the historic structural pieces we hope to include in the new courthouse. There are other, more personal artifacts as well, like a brass plaque with the names of lawyers who lost their lives in World War II.

If you would like to stay current with the progress of construction, there is a live webcam available at http://www.infras.gov.ab.ca/Content/doctype545/production/webcam.htm.

Police and Peace Officer College

A Request for Expression of Interest was released by Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security in June 2005 to solicit ideas and review potential alternatives for a single-site police and peace officer college for the province. The request was sent to over 300 municipalities with a deadline of August 26, 2005. The respondents to the EOI had the opportunity to shape the two-step Request for Proposals stage of this initiative. The first step of the RFP is expected to be released in October 2005.

RCMP Constable Jose Agostinho, 45, was killed July 4 while on duty at the scene of a traffic collision on Queen Elizabeth II highway. Constable Agostinho had nine years service with the RCMP and had been posted to Wetaskiwin Detachment for the past two years. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues.
 

Impaired Driving Investigations Training

Jonathan Hak, a Calgary Crown prosecutor and expert on impaired driving cases went to Lethbridge on July 22 to train new police recruits in impaired driving investigations and prosecutions. The training session took place at the Centre for Advancement in Community Justice at Lethbridge Community College and covered a number of important topics, such as:

• proof of impairment
• use of Approved Screening Devices
• sobriety testing
• gaining reasonable and probable grounds for a breath demand
• blood demands
• blood warrants
• refusing to provide a breath or blood sample
• introduction to hospital search warrants
• right to counsel issues
• gathering evidence in support of charges

Criminal driving prosecutions can be extremely complicated. Police have to be more thorough than ever in collecting evidence and giving testimony in court. Training sessions like this are helping police and Crown prosecutors to work together to ensure convictions in impaired driving cases.

Facial reconstructions displayed to help identify deceased

Alberta’s Chief Medical Examiner released facial reconstructions and sketches of two deceased individuals found at separate times last summer.

The body of an adult male was found June 6, 2004 east of the Walterdale Bridge in Edmonton on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River. No clothing or valuables were on the body. The man was approximately 30 to 40 years of age and had a tattoo of a skull wearing a pirate’s hat on the right arm midway between the                         shoulder and the elbow.

The body of a second adult male was found July 4, 2004 on the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River north of Hairy Hill, Alberta. The man’s age was estimated to be between 40 and 50 years.

Anyone with information about either of these individuals is asked to contact the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at (780) 427-4987 and provide any information they can on the identities.

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