On March 7, 2023, the City of Grande Prairie Council passed a resolution to transition the City of Grande Prairie from the RCMP to a municipal police service. On March 20, 2023, Council passed Bylaw C-1455 to create the Grande Prairie Police Commission, and on May 1, 2023, they appointed 5 public members and 2 City Councillors to the Commission. On May 16, 2023, all Commission members were sworn in and began their orientation journey.
On May 26, 2023, the Grande Prairie Police Commission held their first Commission meeting. At their first meeting the Commission appointed the first Chair, Dan Wong, and first Vice Chair, Natalia Reiman, implemented their first Policy & Procedure Manual, established Committees, and appointed their first Public Complaint Director, Lorrie Sitler. The first order of business coming out of this meeting was to hire a Chief of Police.
The first Chief of Police for the Grande Prairie Police Service, Dwayne Lakusta, took command on August 27, 2023, with a mandate to build the Grande Prairie Police Service up to become the police of jurisdiction.
In October of 2023, the Commission and the Chief held their first Stakeholder Engagement sessions. These engagement sessions were open to all community members and provided the Chief and the Commission with valuable input on what the community wanted in their new police service.
On November 13 and 14, 2023, the Commission, along with the support of the Grande Prairie Police Service executive team, took part in a strategic planning workshop.
On December 6, 2023, two provincial members, appointed by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, were sworn in and joined the Commission.
At their December 21, 2023, meeting, the Commission approved their own Vision, Mission, Values, and first Strategic Plan providing them a roadmap through the transition.
In May of 2024, the Commission welcomed the first Grande Prairie Police Service experienced officer class and at the end of June they celebrated their graduation.