Edmonton police commission seeks to replace city councillor members with civilians

City council could lose itstwo seats on theEdmonton police commission if councillors accept achangethe commission argues would lead to better governance.

In a report going to council Tuesday, the police commission recommends removing the two existingcouncillor seats and replacing them with members of the public "at a time established by council."

The report outlines disadvantages to having city councillors sit on the 12-member commission. The police commission oversees the Edmonton Police Service, allocatingfunds provided by council and setting policies for effective policing.

Councillorshave a tendency tooutweighother commissioners and bringpolitical influence to meetings, the report says.

"I'm a little surprised and concerned," said Ward Sspomitapi Coun. Jo-Anne Wright, who has been a member of the police commission since January.

"My biggest concern is that I think councillors provide the voice of the public we would lose that voice."

The request follows a 2023governance review that weighed advantages and disadvantages of having councillors on the commission. That review recommended the commission ask council to consider replacing council appointees with public members.

For that review, accounting firm MNP conducted 15 individual or group interviews in 2023 with members of the commission, the police chief, police senior staff and police commission staff.

Those methods are insufficient for Mount Royal University criminal justice professor Doug King, who said a change as big as the one being proposed would require wider consultation.

"When you're making these kinds of changes that could seriously harm the very fabric of community policing I don't think they've done a good enough job, quite frankly," King said.

Ward O-day'min Coun. Anne Stevenson, council's other representative on thepolicecommission, saidshe is of two minds aboutthe proposal.

She said she likes the idea of having more civilians involved, but said the commission would potentially losehaving representatives who represent the public by design.

"I don't think those challenges of wearing two hats are insurmountable," Stevenson said. "Being able to keep those roles separate is possible. It requires intention and diligence, but it's not insurmountable."

The Alberta Police Act requires cities with police services to have police commissions.

The legislation says acommission can have up to nine members appointed by the municipality. It says two may be members ofcouncil or city employees but that is not a requirement.

Three members of Edmonton's police commission are currently appointed by the provincial government.

The police commission declined a request from CBCfor an interview ahead of the council meeting but provided a statement from chair John McDougall.

"We appreciate that this is a decision which can only be made by council, and the commission will respect their decision," the statement says.

"Regardless of the outcome, we have advanced this recommendation in order to improve police governance by opening up two commission seats to members of the public."

In its 2021 Safer for All report,the city's Community Safety and Well-Being Task Force made similar recommendations that the city consider replacing council appointees with public members.

Councillors'automatically conflicted'

While the report going to council Tuesday outlines advantages that council appointees may bring through providing a direct link between council and the commission, it also lays out several disadvantages.

"The voices and opinions of councillors tend to far outweigh those of regular commissioners," it reads.

It also says councillors are "automatically conflicted during budget discussions" because they know the strain increases may place on council. And that councillors bring political and council influence to their roles as commissioners.

King said it's a positivethat councillors on the police commission have city budgets in mind.

"That's a good thing that you have people who are very familiar with the budgeting process concerns about the limitation of how far the budgeting can go generally citywide to be at that table."

The report outlines concerns surrounding private versus public discussion, saying the differentiation "can be difficult."

It says messages may be relayed to council or the mayor through informal channels, creating challenges for the commission.

Wright said she knows of no instances of councillors sharing confidential information from private sessions.

"I would like to see examples of that. Because we do try to be discreet. And we have to be I mean, we've signed that code of conduct," Wright said.

The report describes the makeup of police commissions in other jurisdictions. Nearly all have similar council representation as Edmonton, or more. On some, the city's mayor has a seat.

"It does give me cause for concern that if we're the only jurisdiction that is removing council appointees,it could set a precedent for others," Wright said.

"I just don't know how else council would have input to the commission. Or bring that public perspective, which I think is truly important."