The UCP government is detailing how it wants to roll out a provincial police force.

Justice minister Tyler Shandro says rural areas would have more officers than they do now and there would be better local governance over the force in local communities.

"This is a model that addresses the realities of policing in the wide open and remote spaces in many parts of our province," he says. "It has practical ideas which will put more boots on the ground and reduce response times in rural Alberta."

He says detachments now serving smaller municipalities and rural areas would have a guaranteed minimum of ten police officers under the Alberta police service model, along with civilian mental health and addictions specialists available to provide support. 

According to the minister, some detachments now have only three officers under the RCMP.

There would also be between 20 and 30 "Network Hubs" in larger centres with between 48 and 192 officers policing their communities while simultaneously providing a range of specialized services.

Shandro says a provincial police force would also allow for more civilian oversight and would allow for decisions on staffing and budgets to be done locally.

"A lot of this is the result of a police service that would have modern police governance and allow civilians like us to have a say in how resources are deployed in our communities, Shandro explained.

He called concerns about losing $200-million in federal funding that goes to policing now a "red herring".

"We have to remember the federal government has wanted out of that liability since the 1960s, the opportunity to continue to receive that subsidy quite frankly has a shelf life," he says.

"The federal government tried to get out of it before 2012, before this current agreement back when we started negotiating in 2007, they've indicated in every way possible they want out of that liability, they want out of that subsidy, I think they're going to be demanding in any future agreement, this current one ends in 2032, and I think that we as provinces can expect the federal government to demand 100 per cent cost recovery, so we as provinces have to contemplate this has a shelf life."

He says Albertans shouldn't trust the "union rhetoric" that claims people are satisfied with the RCMP.

Shandro says he's been meeting with municipalities individually and in small groups and trusts those engagements more than surveys put out by the police union.

He again assured municipalities that costs won't be downloaded onto them.