Serious Crimes Branch

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• Child Advocacy Centres
• Forestry Crimes Unit
• High Risk Offender Program
• Historical Homicide Unit
• Interview Assistance Team
• Livestock Investigations Unit
• Major Crimes Unit
• Missing Persons Unit
• General Investigations Section
• Sex Offender Registry Centre of Alberta
• Threat Evaluation and Management
• Violent Crimes Linkage Analysis System

The Alberta RCMP Serious Crimes Branch (SCB) is responsible to lead or support investigations throughout the province. The SCB has many investigative units and support units which provide expertise in several areas, including:

• homicides;
• serious persons' crimes;
• child abuse;
• multi-jurisdictional offences;
• complex investigations; and
• investigations making use of advanced investigative techniques.

The SCB supports Alberta RCMP detachments by taking on or supporting advanced investigations. Also, the SCB provides guidance and mentorship to investigators. The SCB has many investigative and support units.

Child Advocacy Centres

Child Advocacy Centres (CACs) are in many communities throughout Alberta. These centres provide "wrap around" services to child victims of abuse. They are staffed by a variety of support services and government agencies including police. Investigators assigned to the CACs are subject matter experts. They have specialized training and experience in chid interviewing. Victims and their families receive specialized support through the investigative and court processes.

The RCMP supports Child Advocacy Centres in:

• Calgary (Luna Centre)
• Edmonton (Zebra Centre)
• Grande Prairie (Caribou Centre)
• Lethbridge (Chinook)
• Lloydminster (Little Bear Centre)
• Medicine Hat (Sanare)
• Red Deer (Central Alberta)
• Wood Buffalo (Waypoints)

Forestry Crimes Unit

Investigators within the Forestry Crimes Unit coordinate forestry investigations within RCMP jurisdiction. They provide specialized wildfire expertise to RCMP detachment personnel and partner agencies. Recent forest fires in Alberta have cost tens of billions of dollars in damage to structures and forest products.

High Risk Offender Program

The Alberta High Risk Offender Program is a partnership between:

• Police,
• Corrections,
• the Crown, and
• the Court.

It allows a multi-faceted response by Alberta Police forces when dealing with individuals who are believed to present a risk of significant harm to the health and safety of any individual.

The RCMP High Risk Offender Program provides support to all RCMP jurisdictions within Alberta and municipal police agencies. It does not provide support for Edmonton and Calgary, who maintain their own units.

Historical Homicide Unit

Within Alberta RCMP jurisdictions, the Historical Homicide Unit (HHU) is comprised of experienced investigators dedicated to the advancement of:

• unsolved missing person cases, and
• homicide cases.

Contact your local RCMP detachment or municipal police agency if you have information about:

• recent or ongoing crimes, or
• specific historical cases.

Your information will be forwarded to HHU. It will be reviewed and considered. There will be no follow up unless clarification is required.

Interview Assistance Team

The Interview Assistance Team (IAT) are experts in interviewing. They provide support to all RCMP detachments within Alberta. The investigators are based in Edmonton and Airdrie. They provide expertise in the preparation and conduct of investigative interviews and related investigational strategies.

The IAT provides service at the municipal, provincial, and federal policing level. At the municipal level, the IAT will assist with some of the more serious investigations at RCMP detachments, including:

• attempted murder;
• serious sexual assaults;
• forcible confinement; and
• aggravated assaults.

At the provincial level, the IAT assists the following:

• Major Crimes Unit
• Historical Homicide Unit
• ALERT (organized crime and firearm trafficking investigations)
• Integrated Child Exploitation (ICE) unit
• National Security and Organized Crime investigations

Livestock Investigations Unit

The Livestock Investigations Unit coordinates all livestock related investigations in Alberta RCMP jurisdictions. They provide specialized livestock expertise to all detachment personnel and other police agencies. Investigators work with Livestock Identification Services Ltd. (LIS) and assist with:

• producer education;
• enforcement of all federal and provincial statutes; and
• the delegated legislation to the LIS provincial mandate.

The unit assists with and coordinates crime prevention programs relating to livestock. They maintain a working relationship with:

• Federal government departments
• Provincial government departments
• Municipal government departments
• Industry related organizations

Major Crimes Unit

The Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit (MCU) manages and investigates:

• homicides,
• suspicious deaths, and
• missing person cases where foul play is suspected.

Alberta's MCU is the largest in the RCMP and is one of the largest homicide units in Canada. There are more than 70 RCMP investigators and more than 30 civilian employees. They provide analytical, disclosure and administrative support.

MCU serves approximately 2 million Albertans, in all communities policed by the RCMP. MCU may also assist independent police services to investigate homicides and suspicious deaths in their communities.

MCU teams are located in Edmonton and Airdrie, each of which respond to investigations anywhere in Alberta.

Contact information

If you have any information that relates to an ongoing MCU investigation, contact your local RCMP detachment.

Missing Persons Unit

A missing person is anyone reported to, or by police, as someone whose whereabouts are unknown, whatever the circumstances of their disappearance may be. There is no minimum time someone must be gone to be reported as missing. The sooner the police are notified, the sooner they can begin working to find that person.

The Alberta RCMP Missing Persons Unit reviews every missing persons file reported to RCMP detachments in Alberta. This team reviews from 15 to 30 missing person files daily. They offer support to frontline investigators until the missing person has been located. Most people reported missing in Alberta are located within the first 24 hours.

If you need to report a missing person, contact your local police. The following will help police begin searching:

• a recent photo,
• a description, and
• details about the last known whereabouts.

The more information you can provide about the person who is missing, the better. After you have contacted police, check with family, friends and colleagues. They may know where the individual is or have additional information that will help.

If you have information about someone who is missing, please contact your local RCMP detachment.

General Investigations Section

The General Investigations Section (GIS) is a serious crimes investigative support unit. They are mandated to assist Alberta RCMP detachments with:

• serious investigations,
• complex investigations, and
• multi-jurisdictional investigations.

The Serious Crimes Branch GIS also collaborates and assists local investigative teams.

There are two provincial GIS teams located in Edmonton and Airdrie.

Sex Offender Registry Centre of Alberta

The Sex Offender Registry Centre of Alberta (SORCA):

• administers the National Sex Offender Registry in Alberta;
• manages all data for Alberta entered onto the National Sex Offender Registry; and
• monitors offender-reporting obligations.

Threat Evaluation and Management

The Threat Evaluation and Management (TEM) Unit provides a proactive approach to preventing violence by:

• evaluating the potential for targeted violence; and
• implementing plans to reduce or eliminate the risk of a violent act occurring.

TEM can assist investigators in the allocation of resources by:

• categorizing the threat;
• evaluating the potential violence or risk;
• suggesting intervention strategies; and
• suggesting victim safety plans.

Typical files where TEM may provide an assessment include:

• criminal harassment (stalking);
• threats to public or political figures;
• threatening correspondence;
• workplace and school violence;
• domestic violence;
• threats to police officers and any other potential for targeted violence; and
• terrorism.

Violent Crimes Linkage Analysis System

The RCMP developed the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS) in 1991. It helps police identify serial crimes and criminals by focusing on the linkages that exist among crimes committed by the same offender. Several countries US states have adopted the ViCLAS system.

The Alberta ViCLAS Centre supports:

• Alberta RCMP detachments;
• Nunavut RCMP detachments;
• the Northwest Territories RCMP detachments;
• all Alberta municipal police agencies (including Edmonton and Calgary police services); and
• the Department of National Defence.