A recent online survey on policing and the justice system indicates rural Albertans still aren't convinced we should get rid of the RCMP.

Nor do they believe it's the root problem in addressing rising crime rates.

An online survey in February delivered by Leger and sponsored by the University of Lethbridge’s Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) shows a distinct lack of support for the creation of a provincial police force among rural Albertans.

Fifty-four per cent of the 1,470 respondents across the province disagree with the idea of Alberta having its own police force, and only 23 per cent of respondents believed one was necessary.

The majority of respondents indicated they have faith in their policing, a high level of trust in the RCMP, and felt police funding should be maintained. Most respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the police are doing a good or excellent job.

Three-quarters indicated they feel safe in their community, however, more than half also felt crime had increased in their community.

“These results are similar to national statistics, as most Canadians say they feel safe,” says Dr. Lars Hallstrom, a political science professor from ULethbridge who assisted with the survey. “While they do feel safe, close to 56 per cent indicated they felt crime in their communities was increasing. This also varies by region.”

Overall perceptions of the justice system were not favourable, with close to 79 per cent either agreeing or strongly agreeing that the court system is not hard enough on criminals. Close to three-quarters of respondents agreed with the statement that the criminal courts are too lenient.

The authors of the report noted the courts and corrections systems in Canada do not usually garner a large amount of trust. The justice system is typically not well understood, and there is often a perception of leniency.

Still, RMA president Paul McLauchlin believes rural residents understand that having enough boots on the ground isn't part of the problem. He says they should stop wasting time and money on establishing a provincial police force and instead focus on enhancing social support and the justice system.

"I mean, we all know that throwing someone in jail isn't that healing process. A lot of the issues that we're dealing with are really dealing with substance abuse and other pieces of the societal puzzle. My members and people in rural Alberta know who these folks are. They know the world they're in and that it ranges from poverty to mental health to poor life choices. And then there's substance abuse or addiction issues."

He says putting hiring another 100 police officers doesn't address the root problem. Nor is throwing all your substance abusers or homeless people in jail.

"First of all, they likely won't go to jail because our jails are full. They likely won't get processed very quickly, and they'll be back out on the streets again. This revolving door is the back-end problem and I constantly hear my provincial counterpart saying, well, you know, the criminal justice system, that's a federal issue. We can't fix that."

He says throwing your hands in the air isn't the solution. Instead, he's willing to have those hard discussions with the federal government.

"There needs to be a better path to solving all these problems and you can't do it in isolation; you have to actually do this together," says McLauchlin.