WESTLOCK – The process to find a new Staff Sgt. for the Westlock RCMP Detachment continues and for the first time ever, local politicians got a chance to not only meet the candidates but offer their opinion on who they’d like to see hired.
During a Feb. 22 session held in Town of Westlock council chambers, Westlock County reeve Christine Wiese and town mayor Ralph Leriger met the three hopefuls as the local detachment has been without a permanent commanding officer since Dec. 16, 2022, when Staff Sgt. Al Baird, who had served in Westlock since February 2018, left to join the Parkland RCMP Detachment as one of two watch commanders — Cpl. Riley Sutherland has been the acting detachment commander in the interim.
While both know their input won’t be the sole determining factor in who gets hired, they were happy to be a part of the process as Wiese noted the ‘K’ Division higher-ups also appreciated “having the view from the municipalities because sometimes that’s missed.” As it stands, a replacement won’t be named by RCMP Eastern Alberta District Chief Supt. Gary Graham until sometime in April — Graham has a tie to Westlock as he grew up in the community.
“I was focused on questions of community, the rural issues and obviously the budget. It was nice to be a part of it and it was very clear that this is a huge process and this only a small piece of the pie and the whole picture will be looked at for each candidate,” said Wiese Feb. 23. “I think this process was really useful and helpful for both sides and hopefully they continue to do it in more municipalities. If we ever have to do it again, I’d love to be a part of it because it was a good experience.”
In a separate interview that same day Leriger agreed, noting “it was fresh and new for us” and he “really appreciated the chance to be a part of the process.”
“It’s a rigorous and structured processed and well thought out, but fair to the candidates,” said Leriger. “We’ve worked really hard on building a positive relationship with the previous Staff Sgt., the detachment and the Traffic Division, so it was important for me to recommend the candidate that I thought was the best fit for our community and the best fit for the detachment in my estimation.”
While this meeting was the final step in this part of the process, the candidates will be further screened internally before one is selected. While talking about the process and their involvement, Leriger made it clear that he’s not in favour of “overly ambitious politicians who believe that they should or can direct law enforcement.”
“I came away from the process feeling that my participation and feedback that I gave was received sincerely and it was meaningful and really, I couldn’t ask for more,” he added.
Wiese noted that once the new commander is selected, they’ll have 90 days to move within 50 kilometres of the detachment “but they can choose to come earlier and a lot of them seemed interested in that.”
“They had done their research on Westlock, and they talked about different crime stats. To be honest, any one of three would be wonderful. They’re all excited to be a part of the community and help us with our policing,” she said.
