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ENFORCEMENT SERVICES

Champion contracts Vulcan County to provide Peace Officer & Bylaw Officer Services. Vulcan County Peace Officers are not trained or appointed to investigate criminal code offences.

Residents must contact their local RCMP to report a criminal offence.

  • Vulcan RCMP Complaint Line: 403-485-2267
  • Emergency: 911

Community Peace Officers

  • Traffic Safety Act & Regulations
  • Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act
  • Animal Protection Act
  • Dangerous Dogs Act
  • Trespass to Premises Act
  • Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act

Each CPO is required to meet and maintain a high standard of qualifications and certification, which ensures the effective and professional delivery of enforcement services within the County. Our CPO’s work collaboratively with partner law enforcement agencies in our region, which include the RCMP, Alberta Sheriffs, and other municipal CPO agencies to provide an enhanced level of municipal law
enforcement services.

Traffic Enforcement

CPO’s have the authority to provide traffic enforcement services on all municipal and provincial roads and highways located within the County, including all Hamlets.

Traffic enforcement is prioritized and delivered with the goal of reducing unsafe driving practices and nuisance behaviors throughout the County. Vulcan County CPO’s provide enforcement services in concert with the Office of Traffic Safety Enforcement Calendar, which focuses on issues including:

  • Speeding
  • Stop sign violations
  • Careless / erratic driving
  • Passing school buses with red lights flashing
  • Distracted driving
  • Occupant restraints

Vulcan County CPO’s work hand in hand with Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Units. Patrol Vehicles are equipped with portable scales for enforcing Weights and Dimensions.

Unsecure Loads are extremely dangerous to other motorists and bystanders. Vulcan County does not have a Mandatory Tarping Bylaw; however Drivers are responsible for any carried cargo to remain on their vehicle. Proper Cargo Strapping and Tarping can assist in keeping your Load Secure.

How to Lodge a Complaint

If you have a bylaw complaint or have witnessed or know of a bylaw infraction, please contact our complaint line at 403-485-3114.

  1. When you make the complaint, we will ask you for your full name and address, and a phone
    number where we can reach you at home, at work and/or on cell. (This information is kept
    confidential.)
  2. Please be prepared to provide the following information:
    • Details relating to the bylaw complaint / infraction you are calling about, including the
      names of all involved (if known), date(s) of occurrence, day(s) of week, month, year and
      time(s) the event or activity occurred.
    • The address or location where the event occurred.
    • What you saw or heard, providing as much detail as possible and be prepared to
      collect and report further information. For example, if you are reporting a barking dog,
      we will ask you to start a log to record dates and times and to identify the dog.
    • The action you wish taken in relation to your concern.
  3. The Peace Officer assigned to your complaint will take action based on your wishes in concert with
    the evidence available. Insufficient evidence would result in no prosecution. In such instances, a
    warning may be issued.
  4. Your complaint, along with all the information you provide will be kept on file and assigned to a
    Peace Officer, who will keep the complaint file open until the matter is resolved.
  5. During the course of an investigation, you may be asked to provide a written statement of what
    you observed. You may also be asked if you would be willing to testify in court. Your testimony
    would be essential if you want to have a charge laid where a Peace Officer has not personally
    witnessed the infraction. If you are not willing to provide a statement or testify in court, a charge
    will not be laid. In these cases, a warning to the offender(s) is the normal course of action, should
    enough evidence exist to issue a warning.
  6. At the conclusion of an investigation, the Peace Officer will contact you to let you know what
    action was taken, or not taken, as well as the final outcome of the file

CHAMPION BYLAW ENFORCEMENT PROCESS

  1. Once the Village of Champion receives a complaint, a Vulcan County Community Peace Officer (CPO’s) is dispatched to contact the person in question.
  2. Complaints are responded to on a priority and available staffing basis. Response time will depend on availability of personnel at the time of the call, and the priority of the complaint compared with other calls received by the unit.
  3. If the complaint is not urgent, we may ask for assistance. For example, if a stray dog has been found and a peace officer is not available, we may ask the complainant to:
    • Keep the dog until an officer is available.
    • Take the dog to an animal shelter themselves.
  4. The peace officer assigned to the complaint will take action based on the complainant’s wishes in concert with the evidence available. Insufficient evidence will result in no prosecution. In such instances, a warning may be issued.
    • Provide education / issue a verbal warning to adhere to the bylaw.
    • This may be accompanied by a grace period to allow for the person(s) to make arrangements to comply with the bylaw.
    • The main objective for bylaw enforcement is compliance with the legislation. Vulcan county officers strive to work with subjects of complaint to achieve compliance in a collaborative manner.
    • If the matter is not resolved during the specified time period, additional enforcement direction and associated actions may be taken or initiated, including the potential issuance of remedial orders, orders to remedy, violation tickets and applications for court of queen’s bench orders.
  5. Serious or dangerous bylaw infractions may result in an enforcement – first approach. For example: serious dog attacks and biting incidents will result in immediate enforcement actions, which may include seizure of dogs, issuance of tickets and applications to courts respecting dangerous dogs.
  6. Should charges be laid, and the evidence you have provided to the officer through statements or other means is required to prove the charge(s) laid, you will be issued a subpoena to attend court as a witness for the prosecution. Failure to attend court to provide necessary evidence to prove the charge before the court will result in the charges being withdrawn.

HOW TO LODGE A COMPLAINT

If you have a bylaw complaint or have witnessed or know of a bylaw infraction, please contact our complaint line at 403-485-3114.

  1. When you make the complaint, we will ask you your full name and address, and a phone number
    where we can reach you at home, at work and/or on cell. (this information is kept confidential.)
  2. Please be prepared to provide the following information:
    • Details relating to the bylaw complaint / infraction you are calling about, including the
      names of all involved (if known), date(s) of occurrence, day(s) of week, month, year and
      time(s) the event or activity occurred;
    • The address or location where the event occurred;
    • What you saw or heard, providing as much detail as possible and be prepared to collect
      and report further information. For example, if you are reporting a barking dog, we will
      ask you to start a log to record dates and times and to identify the dog.
    • The action you wish taken in relation to your concern.
  3. The peace officer assigned to your complaint will take action based on your wishes in concert with
    the evidence available. Insufficient evidence would result in no prosecution. In such instances, a
    warning may be issued.
  4. Your complaint, along with all the information you provide will be kept on file and assigned to a
    peace officer, who will keep the complaint file open until the matter is resolved.
  5. During the course of an investigation, you may be asked to provide a written statement of what
    you observed. You may also be asked if you would be willing to testify in court. Your testimony
    would be essential if you want to have a charge laid where a peace officer has not personally
    witnessed the infraction. If you are not willing to provide a statement or testify in court, a charge will
    not be laid. In these cases a warning to the offender(s) is the normal course of action, should enough
    evidence exist to issue a warning.
  6. At the conclusion of an investigation, the peace officer will contact you to let you know what action
    was taken, or not taken, as well as the final outcome of the file.

PUBLIC EDUCATION

Vulcan County Community Peace Officer’s lead and take part in public education in our villages and hamlets. CPO’s partner with local organizations and work to deliver valuable safety information to residents. Some of our partners are:

  • Speeding
  • Stop sign violations
  • Careless / erratic driving
  • Passing school buses with red lights flashing
  • Distracted driving
  • Occupant restraints

Our primary focus has been on teaching bicycle safety and helmet safety to the youth of our village.

We teach youth basic care of their bicycles, universal hand signals and intersection safety.

Our aim is to instill safe practices for operating their bicycles inside urban settings.

We also run a positive ticket program that we use to encourage positive behavior from youth. We engage with the youth and answer their law enforcement related questions which reinforce a friendly and trusting relationship with law enforcement.