Foothills Patrol

Foothills Patrol Community Peace Officers (CPO’s) operate under the authority of the Peace Officer Act and have authority to enforce specific Provincial Statutes throughout the County including:

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

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 behaviours throughout the County.  Foothills Patrol 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

Foothills Patrol Officers provide enforcement services relating to the movement of commercial vehicles within the municipality specifically relating to:

• Weights and Dimensions
  • Each patrol vehicle is equipped with portable scales
  • Road ban enforcement is a priority for the officers, particularly during spring road ban season
• Commercial Vehicle Safety Inspections (CVSA)
  • All Foothills Patrol Officers are certified CVSA Inspectors and complete numerous safety inspections on a wide variety of commercial vehicles each year in an effort to increase public safety for all users of the roads

Commercial Vehicle Overweight / Over-dimensional Permits:                                   
The County entered into an agreement with TRAVIS MJ in March of 2016, All over-dimensional and overweight permits will be issued through this system and the County's provider is still Roadata. Travis MJ - pdf 

Overdimensional Permits contact Road Data directly at www.roadata.com  or  1-888-830-7623

Foothills Patrol CPO’s have the authority to respond to complaints and conduct investigations relating to various Provincial Statutes such as:

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

Foothills Patrol CPO’s and/or Bylaw Enforcement Officers have the authority to enforce all County Bylaws.  The primary goal for Bylaw Enforcement is to ensure compliance with County Bylaws by working collaboratively with our residents, businesses, and visitors.

• Responsible Dog Ownership
• Land Use
• Traffic
• Community Standards
• Signs

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 403-333-7760

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 or Bylaw 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 or Bylaw 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 or Bylaw 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 or Bylaw Officer will contact you to let you know what action was taken, or not taken, as well as the final outcome of the file.

Bylaw Enforcement Process

1. Once Foothills Patrol receives a complaint, a Peace Officer or Bylaw Officer is dispatched to make contact with 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 the Humane Society or to Heaven Can Wait 

5. The Peace Officer or Bylaw Officer assigned to the complaint will take action based on the complainant wishes in concert with the evidence available.  Insufficient evidence will result in no prosecution.  In such instances, a warning may be issued.
6. If the Peace Officer / Bylaw Officer finds evidence of a Bylaw contravention, the Officer may take the following steps:

• 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.  Foothills Patrol 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

6. 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.

7. 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.

RCMP

Sheriffs | Alberta.ca

Heaven Can Wait 

Calgary Humane Society

Pound Rescue: Okotoks 403-938-4890

Calgary Dog Pound: 403-268-CITY (2489)

Information for Dog Owners (pdf)

Off Highway Vehicles Brochure

Share the Road Brochure

Community Standards Brochure