Taber Municipal Police Commission March 20 briefs

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Taber Times

The following are selected briefs of the March 20 meeting of the Taber Municipal Police Commission. 

Feb. 21 Closed Session

The following resolutions were passed by the commission at the conclusion of the in camera (closed session) proceedings.

Performance Appraisal – Chief Graham Abela: The commission voted unanimously to accept the completed Performance Appraisal for TPS Chief Graham Abela.

Closed Session Meeting: The commission voted unanimously to schedule a closed session for an upcoming meeting that will be dedicated to strategic planning, specifically regarding the review and renewal of the contract for Chief of Police Graham Abela.

Taber Municipal Police Commission – Strategic Plan 2024-2026

Last fall, an independent contractor was hired to complete a SWOT Analysis for the Taber Municipal Police Commission. Following that, a draft Strategic Plan was developed identifying priorities for the next two years.

The commission voted unanimously to accept the report as presented.

Chief Graham Abela’s March 2024 Report

POLICE

Community Involvement: Team Taber Police took the ice to play in the Taber Titans and Food Bank hockey game to raise funds to assist the Food Bank; Chief Abela and Cst. Nguyen attended the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics in Calgary; we are continuing to send out social media posts and further celebrating our 120th year of service to the Town of Taber and area.

Training: Cst. Kitto attended a training session on child forensic interviewing; Insp. Gyepesi did a fraud presentation with the commission at Knox United Church; Cst. Motz and Cst. Weersink undertook ISEP 200 training; two officers were registered for leadership training with CPKN; Cst. Demers has been attending Occupational Health and Safety training; Cst. Demers and Cst. Cobarrubias undertook animal welfare/cruelty training put on by Calgary Police. 

Equipment: The Axon lease agreements were signed, and we are expecting our leased equipment to come in over the next two months; new police car is ordered. 

Operational: Request for bids went out to the contractor community for the refurbishment of the front end of the police station.

Personnel: We have offered a patrol constable job to an applicant, and he has accepted. The new officer will start April 16, 2024; Cst. Brevik has submitted her resignation, and we have accepted with regrets. Cst. Brevik will be continuing her policing career in Calgary. We will post to replace this position soon; Senior Constable Vowles has accepted and is already working in the GIS position for the Taber Police; we have posted the ICE position internally with a closing date of March 22, 2024. 

Public Complaints: Chief Abela reported that the outcome of the public complaint received February 1, 2024, was sustained and one of our officers was disciplined under Sec. 19(1)(a)(i) of the Police Service Regulation and issued an official warning for two minor contraventions. 

COMMUNICATIONS

Operational: We are moving towards a digital platform for conducting police information checks (PIC) at the Taber Police Service. This means that residents of our community, and elsewhere, can from their mobile devices or home computer obtain PIC checks without leaving home. The benefits to the Taber Police are that the front counter work that takes up a large amount of time will become automated. We still complete the check, but the automated system removes the admin challenges. Basically, what is being created is a virtual front counter for these processes. We still will have counter services, but about 85 per cent of checks we hope will be completed online. This system is currently used with most of the municipal police agencies in Alberta, and many others throughout Canada. It is tried and tested and works well, we are playing catch up a little to others and anticipate that we will gain from other’s learning going through this process. The PIC check prices stay the same, but if people want the convenience of using the system there is about a $10 convenience fee the software developer charges.

February Statistics

The numbers in brackets represent the year-to-date figures for February 2023 for comparative purposes.

Traffic: impaired operation 6 (3); dangerous operation of a motor vehicle 3 (1); traffic collisions 20 (18); other Criminal Code 0 (0), provincial traffic offences 273 (292). Liquor Act: 5 (8). Other Criminal Code: 10 (24); offensive weapons 2 (1); corruption/public mischief 0 (1). Drug Enforcement: trafficking 2 (3); possession 1 (1); other 0 (1). Crimes Against a Person: sexual offences 1 (3); robbery/extortion/harassment/threats 5 (8); kidnapping/hostage/abduction 0 (0); assaults 18 (7). Crimes Against Property: theft under $5,000 11 (18); theft over $5,000 2 (2); possession of stolen goods 1 (0); fraud 4 (5); break and enter 2 (3); mischief 5 (11). Bylaw: traffic 2 (3); non-traffic calls 74 (72). 

“In communication with other Chiefs of Police, similar trends have occurred in the province,” said Abela in his written analysis of the statistics.