what is the role of sheriff's in alberta?

[nzwasp]

I was driving down stoney today and saw one. I slowed down to 100 as did others. However i don't know if they have power to pull you over or what is covered under their jurisdiction?

[chathamf]

http://www.solgps.alberta.ca/programs_and_services/public_security/sheriffs/Pages/default.aspx

[blitz]

If I copy and paste your thread title into google, that link is the first answer. I don't mean to be a dick, but maybe try finding the answer on your own for once?

[killramos]

Pretty sure it has something to do with law enforcement...

[roll_over]

So just quickly reading the link if youre not on a highway they don't have any power?

[killramos]

Originally posted by roll_over
So just quickly reading the link if youre not on a highway they don't have any power?

In the link that is just one of like 10 odd roles that different sheriffs perform such as prisoner transport, protecting the legislature, premier.

They aren't police officers in the traditional sense but are peace officers.


Sheriffs are sworn peace officers under the Alberta Peace Officer Act, and they perform a wide range of activities in concert with other law enforcement and policing partners in Alberta.

There are tons of things peace officers can pull you over or question you in person for. Just for being peace officers.

[nzwasp]

I always drive as fast as I normally would around peace officers because I didnt think they had the power to do diddly squat. Same goes for bylaws.

I thought that most sheriffs driving those vans are just for prisoner transport. Some lady infront of me passed him at 110km and I saw him glance at her but then do nothing. Later on the qe2 i drove ahead of him at 120km and he didnt do anything so i presumed he was harmless.

[Stealth22]

Any peace officer can pull you over anywhere in Alberta for a traffic infraction.

A coworker of mine is a retired CPS member. I don't remember why he said that he was outside the city limits (it was official business of some kind), but he saw someone driving like a complete douchebag, and of course pulled him over.

Guy was a complete jerk and said "you can't pull me over here, you ain't got jurisdiction!", and said officer just smiled and nodded as he wrote him a ticket.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally posted by roll_over
So just quickly reading the link if youre not on a highway they don't have any power?

Keep in mind that the legal definition of "highway" includes basically any public roadway.

[civic_stylez]

Originally posted by BerserkerCatSplat


Keep in mind that the legal definition of "highway" includes basically any public roadway.


That was my question... dont police in the city write "stunting on a highway" tickets in the city. Highway means pretty much all roads to my understanding.

[sexualbanana]

I may have started a thread about this a couple years ago because I got pulled over by a Sherriff on Barlow just as a I came off Deerfoot. He didn't give me a ticket for speeding (just a warning), but I think they're allowed to write traffic infractions, from what I found it. They're still sworn law enforcement officers.

[Rat Fink]

.

[Fly Fishin']

I love the no jurisdiction. ..sure he might not be able to give tickets in some places but he still has a radio to call in someone who does. I have seen fish cops pull over a motor cycle before.

[killramos]

Originally posted by nzwasp
Some lady infront of me passed him at 110km and I saw him glance at her but then do nothing. Later on the qe2 i drove ahead of him at 120km and he didnt do anything

Since when do you get pulled over for going 110-120 on deerfoot/QE2?

Usually you have be pulling some kind of significantly more ignorant shit to get pulled over going those apeeds.

[16hypen3sp]

They can pull you over where ever they want... inside or outside a city.

I thought they were trying to lessen court costs...? That's why they usually let you go 120 on highway 2. Any more than that and your fair game.

[Fly Fishin']

You can go 10% above the posted speed limit with no problem. That rule has kept me clear of the fuzz for 10 years now.

[nzwasp]

I'm a bit more iffy around cops, in my home country they pull you over doing 105 in a 100 km zone and give you a $30 ticket and demerit points.

In New Zealand:

Fines:
• < 10 km/h = $30
• 10 - 15km/h = $80
• 15 - 20 km/h = $120
• 20 - 25 km/h = $170
• 25 - 30 km/h = $230
• 30 - 35 km/h = $300
• 35 - 40 km/h = $400
• 40 - 45 km/h = $510
• 45 - 50 km/h = $630

Demerits:
• 1 - 10km/h = 10 demerit points;
• 11 - 20km/h = 20 demerit points;
• 21 - 30km/h = 35 demerit points;
• 31 - 35 km/h = 40 demerit points;
• 36km/h and above = 50 demerit points.

and if you accumulate 100 demerits in 2 years your license is suspended for 3 months.

When I was 21 I accumulated 95 demerits in 24 hours and then had to drive like a granny for 2 years.

Its a bit of a nanny state over there.

[hampstor]

Originally posted by Rat Fink
I don't think they can enforce the criminal code but everything else is fair game

My old neighbor was w/ the Sheriffs and he said while they can't enforce criminal code, their jurisdiction as a peace officer allowed them to enforce traffic laws and bylaws.

[lasimmon]

Originally posted by nzwasp
I'm a bit more iffy around cops, in my home country they pull you over doing 105 in a 100 km zone and give you a $30 ticket and demerit points.

In New Zealand:

Fines:
• &lt; 10 km/h = $30
• 10 - 15km/h = $80
• 15 - 20 km/h = $120
• 20 - 25 km/h = $170
• 25 - 30 km/h = $230
• 30 - 35 km/h = $300
• 35 - 40 km/h = $400
• 40 - 45 km/h = $510
• 45 - 50 km/h = $630

Demerits:
• 1 - 10km/h = 10 demerit points;
• 11 - 20km/h = 20 demerit points;
• 21 - 30km/h = 35 demerit points;
• 31 - 35 km/h = 40 demerit points;
• 36km/h and above = 50 demerit points.

and if you accumulate 100 demerits in 2 years your license is suspended for 3 months.

When I was 21 I accumulated 95 demerits in 24 hours and then had to drive like a granny for 2 years.

Its a bit of a nanny state over there.

I like those level of fines and demerit system, if and only if, they would raise the maximums to more appropriate levels.

[16hypen3sp]

Originally posted by lasimmon


raise the maximums to more appropriate levels.

They won't be. Not for a long time at least... unfortunately.

[revelations]

Someone else with more experience will speak up im sure, but the Sheriffs, Fish and Wildlife officers, CP Rail police, etc. can and do enforce traffic laws - especially if youre acting like a complete retard on the road. You probably wont see them writing too many 5 kph-over tickets however.

[nzwasp]

What are the maximum fine levels at the moment? I thought they were either you pay a 10k ticket or you take demerits/loss of license.

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by Stealth22
Any peace officer can pull you over anywhere in Alberta for a traffic infraction.

A coworker of mine is a retired CPS member. I don't remember why he said that he was outside the city limits (it was official business of some kind), but he saw someone driving like a complete douchebag, and of course pulled him over.

Guy was a complete jerk and said &quot;you can't pull me over here, you ain't got jurisdiction!&quot;, and said officer just smiled and nodded as he wrote him a ticket.

Originally posted by revelations
Someone else with more experience will speak up im sure, but the Sheriffs, Fish and Wildlife officers, CP Rail police, etc. can and do enforce traffic laws - especially if youre acting like a complete retard on the road. You probably wont see them writing too many 5 kph-over tickets however.
This is true. I quoted my own post up there, but I just wanted to add, I remembered the ending of that conversation with that coworker.

He specifically mentioned Fish and Wildlife. You are correct...anyone designated as a peace officer can write you up for a traffic or bylaw violation, anywhere in the province of Alberta.

As people have said, only police can enforce the criminal code. But if you did something illegal (criminal, not traffic related) in front of a peace officer, he would probably call in the RCMP or local city police on you. He can't enforce the criminal code, but he sure as hell can be a witness to a crime, just like any citizen.

As far as traffic or bylaws go, any peace officer can stop you, anywhere in AB. This includes Fish and Wildlife, Commercial vehicle enforcement, Transit peace officers, Sheriffs, community peace officers, heck, maybe even Canada Customs, although I'm not sure on that last one.

My coworker said, "Basically, if he's got blue and red lights on his car, he can write you up anywhere in the province."

Would a random peace officer write you a speeding ticket for going 110-120 in a 100 zone? Probably not, even if he was CPS, RCMP, or a Sheriff. But if you do something really stupid, they can and will stop you. They would probably have to show up to court in Calgary if you fight the ticket, which is probably why you won't see it happen that often.

But the whole idea that you're home free from a pursuing CPS cruiser the moment you cross the city limits is a myth.

[95EagleAWD]

Okay, so some things need be cleared up about Peace Officers here.

Since I am one, I'll try and do my best, in layman's terms and keep it simple.

Sheriff's are Peace Officers. They're Alberta Peace Officers while the rest of us are labeled Community Peace Officers. The Sheriff's you see on the highways are there for traffic enforcement, and traffic direction in the case of emergencies. They work with the RCMP for this role. They're also prisoner transport, and courthouse guards. They have Criminal Code authority in the courthouses, which is why they carry guns.

CPOs, the ones who work for Transit, municipalities, etc... they have varying roles. Most municipalities have them for traffic, bylaw, and other minor crime items and enforcement that the RCMP don't need to handle. I work for a college, and while we do provide "security" for that college, we're not security guards. We do traffic enforcement, liquor enforcement, etc...

Now, not every Peace Officer can pull you over. It depends if they have the TSA on their appointment. Transit POs cannot pull you over. At least not in Edmonton, I'm not 100% sure about Calgary. But I would imagine they can't. There's really no reason for them to. They have other things to worry about. AFAIK, the only POs in Edmonton that can pull cars over is the U of A Peace Officers. How a member of the public would figure out if they have that authority, I'm not sure; perhaps our appointments are public?

We don't have jurisdiction anywhere in the province. LEGALLY we do, but that is limited by policy and our appointments. So I cannot write a ticket off of the property that I work for. I can, however, chase you off of it, and arrest you outside of my jurisdiction. If the offense occurs on, or affects, our jurisdiction, than we can chase you to our heart's content.

If you commit a crime in front of a PO, we will arrest you. We have that right under the CCC (just like any citizen). We will then turn you over to a Police Officer for charges. We will handcuff you, search you, and put you in the back of our car until the Police get there.

Like Police Officers, we are always considered "on duty". We carry badges and IDs, and our status is 24/7. When we're not working, if I see something truly retarded on the road in front of me and I feel the need to call the police to report it, they are quite quick at responding to a complaint from an off duty PO.

[Stealth22]

^ Thanks for the post, that's really helpful info! :thumbsup:

I stand corrected on some of the stuff I said, haha. Based on what you say, CT peace officers probably can't make traffic stops either. Like you said, they have no reason to. CPO's and Fish/Wildlife can, however.

This thread went off on a couple of tangents, but the point is, Sheriffs are mainly there for court/prisoner security, but one of their mandates is traffic enforcement. So they can and will pull you over, just like many other peace officers appointed throughout the province.

If he's got a blue and red lightbar, chances are, he has the authority to pull you over. And even if he can't legally pull you over or write you up, he sure as hell can call a police officer to do it for him.

[Darkane]

One of the main roles of the sherries are to patrol the highway of death (63).

A lot of presence there.