About
Camrose Police
The Early Years
When the Hamlet of Stoney Creek began to grow in population, the Dominion Government transferred their R.N.W.M.P. Detachment from Duhamel to Stoney Creek in 1904. Constable Blue Smith policed both the County and the Hamlet and later, the Village of Sparling.
In 1905, the Hamlet of Stoney Creek was incorporated as the Village of Sparling. The Village Council appointed its own Constable, Charlie E. Asp, a local blacksmith and carpenter. He held this office until 1908.
In 1906, council changed the name of the village to the Town of Camrose. After Charlie Asp there were several men that served as police officers in the town: Cst. A. Hill, Cst. Lawrence Larson, Cst. William Carter, Cst. McKenzie, Cst. Craig, Cst. Dann, and Cst. Stan Ilnicki. In 1920 Mr. Bill Waterton left the Alberta Provincial Police Force to become Chief Constable of the Town of Camrose. In 1937 Herbert Dean joined Cst. Waterton and others also came and left; Cst. R.R. Holgate, Dan Foputs and Phil Link held positions as Constable through to 1943. In that year Cst. Waterton retired and the police force was disbanded. The Town of Camrose entered into an agreement with the Federal Government to have Camrose policed by members of the RCMP. In 1955 Camrose became a city and began planning for the future, which led to the beginning of the current Camrose Police Service.
Camrose
Chiefs of Police
April 1956-May 1963
The first Chief of Police was Howard Martin, who had been with the RCMP for twenty three years. Most of his service was in Alberta and he resigned as a Sergeant in charge of the Stettler Detachment to accept the position of Chief of Police. The first members to join Chief Martin were Cst. Duff Franklin, Cst. Charlie Starcheski, Cst. Tom Coultis, Cst. Robert Bell and Cst. Bob McFeeley.
June 1963-July 1982
Chief Martin retired in 1963 and the vacancy was filled by Chief E.V. Christianson. Chief Christianson had been in the RCMP for twenty years and posted to many locations. Chief Christianson held that position for several years and retired in 1982.
Aug 1982-July 1987
Deputy “Duff” Franklin was appointed Chief after Chief Christianson retired, and spent the next five years in command of the Camrose Police Service.
Jan 1988-Jan 1999
Chief Bradshaw had been with the RCMP for 27 years and retired as a detachment commander in Wetaskiwin. In 1990 the name of the agency changed from Camrose Police Department to Camrose Police Service. Chief Bradshaw was Chief until his retirement in 1999.
Jan 1999-Dec 2007
Upon Chief Bradshaw’s retirement, Deputy Chief Marshall Chalmers was appointed as Chief and remained until 2007.
Jan 2008-May 2017
Deputy Chief Darrell Kambeitz was appointed as Chief of Police on January 1st, 2008 and held the position until May 4th, 2017. Under the direction of Chief Kambeitz, the Camrose Police Service badge was heralded.
July 2017-June 2019
Chief Neufeld started with the Vancouver Police and after two years moved to Edmonton where he rose to the rank of Superintendent with the Edmonton Police Service. Chief Neufeld served the community until June 7th, 2019 when he accepted a position as Chief of the Calgary Police Service.
July 2019-present
On July 8th, 2019 Dean LaGrange became the 8th Chief in the history of the Camrose Police Service. Chief LaGrange brings with him 26 years of experience with the Calgary Police Service where he rose to the rank of Inspector followed by an 18 month term with the RCMP in Red Deer where he held the position of Inspector of Operational Support.
The first police car, a 1956 Dodge Crusader was purchased from LeBarge Chrysler for $2,169.34, a vast difference from fully equipped police cars today costing upwards of $85,000.
It was Cst. Tom Coultis that received the keys to the police station and began his first shift at 12:01 A.M. on July 1st, 1956. Tom retired February 28, 1970 and passed away in December, 2022. Tom was a resident of Camrose and could be seen every year in the parade proudly wearing his original tunic and driving our 1956 Dodge Crusader Police Car. It was through reminiscing with Tom that we learned many details about policing in the early years of the Camrose Police Department.
Cst. Tom Coultis
First Camrose Police Station
The first police building was located on the corner of 51 Street and 50 Avenue. Housed in a former church was City Hall in the front and the police station in the back. The RCMP operated out of this same location until turning the keys over to Tom. The station consisted of a small Chief’s office, an open area and two small portable cells.
There was no radio system and when a Constable was out on patrol he had to forward the telephone to his residence where his spouse would answer the call. She would then have to drive down to the police station and activate a red light mounted on a power pole outside the station. It was the member’s responsibility to keep an eye on the light on the pole. It was visible from just about anywhere in the downtown core. If it was lit he knew there was a call to answer.
Twenty-four hour policing was offered to Camrosians from the inception of the city police. Training to cover the criminal, traffic and liquor laws as well as City bylaws took part in the basement of the firehall for approximately one month. In comparison, current recruit training takes eight months.
The Bank of Montreal moved from the corner of 50 Street and 49 Avenue (Current CIBC location) to 50 Street and 50 Avenue (Current Inspirations Spa location), and when they did the city moved into their old building. City Hall was located on the main floor while the police station took up approximately half of the upper floor. The building’s caretaker also resided on the upper floor. Being on the upper floor accessed only by a set of stairs made it challenging for officers to haul some prisoners to jail. In the basement of this building was an indoor gun range.
Front row L to R: Dennis Quarin, Vic Redekopp, Duff Franklin, Ray Rowe
Ball team at Central
The range was never used by police, but was used for the training of bank employees prior to their move to the new location. Target practice for police took place either at the indoor gun range that still exists at the community centre, or outside at Dodd’s Coal Mine northeast of Camrose. It was at this location that a radio dispatch system was implemented.
From that building police moved to a newly constructed office at 4907 – 49 Street. It was built on a small piece of property between a service station and a car dealership. This building was used until the move into the current location in 1999, the former CFCW Radio building.
Camrose Police Service Badge
Canadian Heraldic Authority
Since 1988 the Governor General of Canada has been authorized by her Majesty the Queen to grant armorial bearings in Canada, which where appropriate can include a depiction of the Royal Crown.
Armorial bearings include arms, flags and badges that are developed in consultation with the Chief Herald of Canada, who is responsible for following heraldic practice and maintaining high aesthetic standards. The design is developed using a limited number of symbols and colours to create a meaningful and powerful art form for the applicant. The Sovereign of Canada, on the recommendation of the Governor General, must personally approve each use of the Royal Crown in Canadian armorial bearings. Once approved the armorial bearings are registered in the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada. Each registration is assigned a page in the Register and official notice of the registration is published in the Canada Gazette.
Camrose Police Service Badge
The Sovereign of Canada approved the use of the Royal Crown which adorns the top of our badge. The Blue and yellow colours are taken from the emblem used by the City of Camrose.
The Wheat symbolizes the rural farming of the area, while the cogwheel represents manufacturing industries. The two reflective halves of the blue oval evoke Mirror Lake, traversed by a main road represented by the yellow stripe. The interlaced symbol recalls the abundance of green spaces in the city, and also represents the strong community connection between the police members and the city residents as they work cooperatively for the community’s well-being. The shield is encircled by an abbreviation of our mission statement; “Public Safety. Policing Excellence”.
Authority was also received for the creation of a Flag depicting the badge using maple leaves and wild roses in the corners to represent our service to Alberta and Canada.
Since receiving our approval, we commenced the lengthy process of transitioning to our new crest from the design concept from the Heraldic Authority. The first step was to have that artist rendering converted into a useable digital design in a variety of formats.
camrose police
Executive
Chief of Police, Dean LaGrange
During his 30+ years in law enforcement, Chief LaGrange spent 26 years with the Calgary Police Service, including a year-long mission (2011-2012) Operation Enduring Freedom with NATO forces in Afghanistan, training the Afghan National Police.
Upon his retirement from Calgary as a Duty Inspector in 2017, he joined the RCMP and was placed as the Inspector of Ops Support for the City of Red Deer. After a short 18 months with the RCMP, he was appointed as the Chief of Police for the City of Camrose, where he currently holds Command.
Inspector, Operations, John Corbett
Inspector John Corbett is a 21 year member of the Camrose Police Service. He currently oversees Operations which include Front Line Patrol, K9/Traffic, and the Major Crimes Unit.
Inspector, Operations Support, Rene Brisson
Inspector Rene Brisson is a 22 year member of the Camrose Police Service. He currently oversees Operations Support which includes the 911 Centre, Professional Standards, PACT, SRO, IT and Victim Services.
camrose police
Organizational Chart
