Edmonton courts need 21 more sheriffs

Premier pledges to address concern over security

Law Courts in Edmonton

EDMONTON - The Solicitor General of Alberta needs to hire 21 new sheriffs to staff Edmonton courtrooms, the union for provincial sheriffs said Wednesday.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees has been urging management at the Edmonton Law Courts to “address the dire shortage of sheriffs,” the union said in a statement.

Derrick Karbashewski, chairman of AUPE Local 003, which represents regulatory and correctional employees, said the issue was discussed in a meeting Oct. 31.

“In order to have a sheriff in every courtroom, they’d have to hire 21 more,” he said. “Management told us in October that they’re working on it, but so far nothing has changed.”

Karbashewski said the shortage is forcing some sheriffs to cancel vacations to cover shifts.

Tuesday, two Court of Queen’s Bench justices took the rare step of publicly criticizing the provincial government for not ensuring courtroom security in Edmonton.

An angry Justice Terry Clackson summoned the news media to his courtroom, pointed out the lack of a sheriff and adjourned his case until one could be found.

“The tragedy is that this system is being held hostage,” Clackson said.

Wednesday morning, Clackson’s courtroom was again without a sheriff, but the justice allowed court proceedings to continue.

There were five criminal courtrooms without sheriffs on Tuesday. On Wednesday, there were seven.

Alberta Justice is responsible for ensuring security at the courthouse, but it is the solicitor general who directly employs the sheriffs.

Premier Alison Redford pledged Wednesday to deal with the issue.

“When I was justice minister, we did seem to have a systemic issue there and I had thought that it had been dealt with,” Redford said. “I’ve asked the solicitor general to look at that. I’m going to make sure we have enough sheriffs and that judges are satisfied.”

Justice Minister Verlyn Olson said he spoke with chief justices Neil Whitman and Gail Vickery on Wednesday and that he has been updated by his department.

“I understand that discussions had been ongoing,” Olson said. “I have to say I was a little surprised by the media frenzy over this yesterday because my department has been working with a committee including Solicitor General and judiciary on some of these issues. Obviously safety in the courtroom is very important to us.”

Olson said discussions are ongoing and he is slated to meet with Associate Chief Justice John Rooke. He declined to say when he expected the security issue would be resolved.

Provincial sheriffs use metal detectors at courthouse entrances, provide general security and are supposed to be present in all criminal and family courtrooms.

There have been no reports of safety incidents due to a lack of sheriffs.