CALGARY -- The Lethbridge Police Commission has completed a draft framework to improve the Lethbridge Police Service, which it hopes will fulfill the province's requirements.
The plan was revealed in full at a closed-door meeting on Thursday afternoon, which was later approved by board members.
The details of the plan haven't been released, but the commission says a condensed version will be made available to the public after it has been presented to Lethbridge city council and Alberta's Justice Minister Kaycee Madu.
Madu gave officials until April 24 to come up with a strategy to improve the LPS and address his "serious concerns."
Without that, he said he would use Section 30 of the Police Act to remove it from action.
The move came after a series of scandals involving the LPS, most notably the alleged illegal surveillance of Lethbridge-West MLA Shannon Phillips when she was serving as Alberta's environment minister.
Because of that incident, two LPS officers were demoted and five others were suspended with pay pending a further investigation.
LPS Chief Shahin Mehadizadeh says the action plan will address those concerns with public confidence.
"This report includes a compilation of a lot of the things we've done over the last few months and some of the initiatives we have ongoing," he said. "We are hoping that it's going to be to his satisfaction."
Rob Van Spronsen, chair of the Lethbridge Police Commission, says the LPS has been "very proactive."
"This is a way to put it all together in one package and we are very confident the citizens will see this as a positive direction, a positive step forward for the police service."
The plan will be presented next week.
