Downtown patrol unit earns provincial justice award

By Brook Wagner on October 6, 2026.

Medicine Hat Police Service's Downtown Patrol members were honoured in Lethbridge last week after being nominated by the chamber for an Alberta Community Justice Award.--SUPPLIED PHOTO

bwagner@medicinehatnews.com

The Medicine Hat Police Service’s Downtown Patrol Unit has won an Alberta Community Justice Award.

The unit received the award Friday at a ceremony in Lethbridge. Police announced the honour in a release posted Monday.

The Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce nominated the unit in the Responding to and Preventing Crime and Violence category, police said. Police said the nomination recognized the unit’s community focused approach in the downtown core, including building trust and supporting vulnerable people.

Sgt. Brian Bohrn, Const. Lisa Gervais, Const. Keegan Clarke, Const. Mitch Young and Const. Tyler Stuber accepted the award. Chief Alan Murphy and Deputy Chief Raj Saini also attended. Bohrn has been with the unit since its inception.

The province hands out the awards every two years through the ministries of Justice and Public Safety and Emergency Services. Twenty-five people were honoured this year in five categories.

Behind every safer community are people whose commitment often goes unrecognized, Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said in a statement.

The Downtown Patrol Unit was started in 2020 to address public behaviour concerns and help residents and businesses feel safer. Officers began patrolling that October, covering an area from N. Railway Street to Third Avenue SE and from River Road to the Southeast Hill.

The unit has grown since then, two more city funded officers joined in 2025, bringing the team to five members. Police said the patrol area has widened, but its core goals haven’t changed.

MHPS logged 35,541 calls for service in 2025, up from 33,006 a year earlier, the police’ annual report said.