News release
First Full Team of Grande Prairie Police Service Members Assembled at Grande Prairie RCMP Detachment
December 18, 2025
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Grande Prairie, Alberta
From: Alberta RCMP
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Grande Prairie, Alta. – The Grande Prairie RCMP welcomes the first full frontline team, or Watch, of Grande Prairie Police Service (GPPS) officers. December 1st saw the addition of two GPPS Sergeants who now occupy frontline supervisor roles. This watch now includes two GPPS Sergeants, seven GPPS Constables and four GPPS recruits.
The reorganization of Watch 1 marks a significant milestone in the Grande Prairie policing transition, as it means that when this team is on duty, GPPS members will respond to calls for service under the command of the RCMP Watch Sergeant.
“Although there are officers with different uniforms at the detachment, from an operations perspective, we are functioning as one police service,” says Inspector Mark MacDougald, interim Officer-in-Charge, Grande Prairie RCMP. “GPPS and the Grande Prairie RCMP are fully integrated and united with the common goal of maintaining public safety for the residents of Grande Prairie.”
“Fully staffing a complete squad at the detachment is another significant step in our transition to a municipal police service,” says Chief Dwayne Lakusta, Grande Prairie Police Service. “This milestone reflects the dedication of our transition team and staff, whose hard work, together with our RCMP partners, has ensured we continue to enhance service without any disruption for residents.”
The reorganization of Watch 1 is the latest step in Grande Prairie’s multi-year transition towards having its own municipal police service and brings the total number of GPPS officers at the detachment to 38. In October and November 2025, four GPPS recruits and six GPPS experienced officers joined the detachment, and in turn nine RCMP officers were transferred out of the Detachment to fill vacancies outside of Grande Prairie.
Change of Command is scheduled for October 21, 2026. During this transition, the RCMP remains the police of jurisdiction.
Citizens are reminded that the process to follow during an emergency is still the same.
“As always, if you’re experiencing an emergency, please call 911. If it’s not an emergency or you need to report a crime, you can still call the RCMP detachment directly,” says MacDougald. “You may start to see more GPPS uniforms than RCMP, and we are all here to maintain community safety.”
For additional information on the Grande Prairie Transition Timeline, please visit:
Transition Timeline | Grande Prairie Police Service (gppolice.com)