CPOs working with cops to tackle fentanyl

Amanda Jeffery,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With the Alberta Government focussing more resources on the fight against fentanyl in the province, they have asked municipalities to help out.

In a letter from the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, Mike Ellis, the Town was informed that the RCMP needed to enlist the help of the CPOs to help with the fight.

Interim CAO Pat Vincent says that for the Town there won’t be much change. Vincent says the CPOs will be assisting the RCMP in dealing with situations surrounding fentanyl.

However, the CPOs themselves will not be dealing with the drugs, rather they will be assisting with the crime scene, with tasks such as directing traffic.

“They don’t have the jurisdiction under their employment to do anything other than provide things like traffic control or site security,” says Vincent.

He says in a case where RCMP have pulled over someone and found fentanyl in the vehicle, then they may call in the CPO to help. This would allow the RCMP to focus on handling the arrest and obtaining evidence without any worry about being on the side of the road.

In the case of the RCMP getting intelligence on a fentanyl house in the community, the CPO can be called on as well. Vincent says that once the house has been cordoned off, CPOs can be used for site security to ensure that only authorized personnel are entering the crime scene.

Vincent says Minister Ellis made it clear that the CPOs are to stay within their mandate while assisting the RCMP.

“It’s what we’ve been doing all along,” says Vincent. “I’m not sure if there’s other communities in the province that don’t have that same relationship with their local RCMP detachment.”

Vincent says with the level of danger involved with fentanyl, especially if it is carfentanil, only those with training are allowed to deal with the substance. If a community officer were to find a substance they believed could be the drug during a routine traffic stop, they would be required to contact the RCMP to take over at that point.

“They’re the ones that have the training and the authority to deal with that particular issue,” he says.

In his letter, Minister Ellis indicated that the necessity of the CPO assistance with the matter was only temporary.

Amanda Jeffery,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Drayton Valley and District Free Press