The City of Grande Prairie says preparations are accelerating as the Grande Prairie Police Service (GPPS) moves closer to becoming the community’s police of jurisdiction on October 21, 2026.
The service say it remains on track to take over policing responsibilities two years ahead of schedule.
During the transition period, GPPS officers continue to work alongside the Grande Prairie RCMP while the organization expands staffing, training and specialized policing capabilities ahead of the changeover.
Officials say residents will see no interruption in policing services when the transition takes place. The public will continue to use the same emergency and non-emergency contact numbers, 9-1-1 and 780-830-5700 to access police services.
“In just three months, the Grande Prairie Police Service will become the police of jurisdiction for our city,” said Dwayne Lakusta, Chief of Police for GPPS. He said the organization has built a team of trained and experienced officers and is focused on ensuring all systems and service units are fully operational before the transition.
Recruitment and training efforts continue as the service grows. Officials said Recruit Class No. 4 is currently in training and is expected to graduate in October, while recruiting is underway for Class No. 5, which is scheduled to begin in early 2027.
The service has also completed its seventh Experienced Officer Program and plans to launch another later this month.
Once fully operational, GPPS says it will offer a range of specialized policing resources dedicated to Grande Prairie.
Those capabilities include a tactical team, Criminal Investigative Section, Specialized Investigations Section, forensic services, a polygraph examiner, canine teams and drone operations.
Officials say the resources will allow the service to respond more effectively to local policing needs.
The service has also expanded its fleet with its first police motorcycle, restored by the city’s Fleet Services team with support from Mighty Peace Harley-Davidson.
The motorcycle will be used for traffic enforcement, community engagement and special events. A second motorcycle is expected to join the fleet in the future.
Meanwhile, GPPS says its drone program will support searches for missing people, crime scene documentation, collision mapping and responses to crimes in progress.
The service is also continuing to develop community policing initiatives through dedicated community engagement, youth engagement and foot patrol teams, while partnering with organizations such as #NotInMyCity on community safety efforts.