Alberta Provincial Police

The Alberta Provincial Police was a police force active in Alberta, Canada, from 1917 until 1932.

Alberta Provincial Police
AbbreviationAPP
MottoFiat justitia
(Let justice be done)
Agency overview
Formed1917
Dissolved1932
Jurisdictional structure
Legal jurisdictionProvincial
Operational structure
HeadquartersEdmonton Barracks
Sworn members201
Facilities
Barracks105

In 1917, the Royal Northwest Mounted Police left Alberta due to a lack of sufficient resources in light of its increased responsibilities for national security during World War I and possibly its reluctance to again enforce Prohibition law recently put into effect by the Alberta government after its experience doing so during territorial times.[1] It was replaced by the newly created Alberta Provincial Police on March 1, 1917, which was responsible for provincial policing until 1932, when it was eliminated as a cost-cutting measure during the Great Depression.[2] On November 9, 2019 Premier Jason Kenney announced a panel exploring the benefits of reinstating the APP, along with other policies regarding the return of federal programs to Alberta's jurisdiction.[3]

Today the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's "K" Division is responsible for provincial policing in Alberta and the Alberta Sheriffs Branch is responsible for additional provincial law enforcement.


Ranks

Known ranks on the force:

Commissioners

Board of Commissioners
  • Philip Carteret Hill Primrose – Chairman (1917–1919) – Police Magistrate for the city of Edmonton and previously with the North-West Mounted Police
  • Arthur George Browning KC (1917–1919) – Deputy Attorney General
  • Gilbert Edward Sanders CMG, DSO (1917–1919) – Police Magistrate for the city of Calgary and previously with the North-West Mounted Police; served in World War I with rank of lieutenant colonel

After re-organisation
  • Alfred Cuddy 1919–1922 – former Chief of Calgary Police (1912–1919) and Assistant Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police[4]
  • Willoughby Charles Bryan 1922–1932 – previously with the North-West Mounted Police.[5][4]

Stations and divisions

Alberta Provincial Police stations were known as barracks or detachments with about 100 when the force was created in 1917.[6]

The province was divided into division regions: Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge, Peace River, and Grande Prairie.

Equipment and vehicles

Land fleet
  • Indian Motorcycles with sidecars

Weapons

Officers killed in the line of duty
  • Constable F.W.E. Bailey (September 23, 1889 - August 7, 1920) – Shot to death by train hold-up desperadoes, Crowsnest Pass.[9]
  • Constable Frank Sissons (? - September 8, 1921) – shot in accident while inspecting living conditions of a family.[9]
  • Constable Oleson (? - 1922) – injured seriously while enforcing order on a strikers' picketline at Cardiff, Alberta, died later in hospital.
  • Constable George Osgoode (? - January 25, 1922) – shot by bootlegger at Kinuso.[9]
  • Constable Stephen O. Lawson (June 8, 1880 - September 21, 1922) – Shot to death by bootleggers Emilio Picariello and Florence Lassandro, or other shooter, at Crowsnest Pass.[9]

See also

References
  1. Johnsrude, Larry (June 18, 2007). "Provincial police history saved". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  2. Foster, Franklin L. (1981). John E. Brownlee: A Biography. Lloydminster, Alberta: Foster Learning Inc. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-55220-004-9.
  3. Dawson, Tyler (November 9, 2019). "Kenney announces 'firewall'-style panel in pursuit of a 'fair deal' for Alberta saved". National Post. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  4. http://www.rcmpveteransvancouver.com/tribute-to-teddy-bryan-reg-2152/
  5. http://www.pioneersalberta.org/profiles/b.html#bryant_c
  6. http://www.archivesalberta.org/2006exhibit/paa1.htm
  7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=282V-Fjs9pY
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2017-09-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. https://www.thememorial.ca/memorial/index/honourroll
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