Alberta, the utopia

In the Guardian today was an article entitled It may be boring but even the villains are polite - British bobbies head for Alberta. The opening excerpt:

Jeff Locke spent 14 years in the Metropolitan police; the ex-marine was in the riot squad, the surveillance team and the counter-terrorism branch. But on Wednesday, the 45-year-old veteran could be found drinking a carrot, apple and ginger smoothie in a shopping mall in Calgary, Alberta, western Canada.

He wasn't on holiday. He was at work, patrolling the shops and shiny skyscrapers alongside another British officer, Kevin Whitley. All morning there had been no crimes to foil - though one man did ask for directions - but the pair seemed blissfully happy, not to mention well-loved. "No joke, around 10-15 times a day, a member of the public comes up to me and tells me what a good job I'm doing," said Locke. "In 14 years working for the Met, I think that happened twice."