Police chief says more officers expected on Calgary streets next year
CBC
There could be more provincially funded officers in the city by next year, according to Calgary's police chief, as he said he expects a deal will soon be finalized to get provincial money.
Police Chief Mark Neufeld said Tuesday that officers will be earmarked for transit, downtown and crime "hot spots" around the city.
This comes amid ongoing budget adjustment discussions that have the potential to increase homeowners' property tax bills by 7.8 per cent.
The provincial government announced earlier this year that it would provide money for 50 new officers to Calgary and Edmonton.
Speaking to city council Tuesday, Neufeld said he anticipates half of the officers will be hired in the first quarter of 2024 and the second half would be hired by the second quarter.
"But all of that is, of course, contingent on being able to get the agreement down and having sustainable funding for the officers going forward," Neufeld said.
CBC News has reached out to the provincial government for a response.
Calgary police are not seeking additional funding from the City of Calgary beyond what was secured last year, but Neufeld highlighted what he called a changing environment post-pandemic.
"We've got protests going on in the city every weekend and multiple times through the week.… It's costing us a considerable amount of money because we don't have resources dedicated to dealing with protests specifically," Neufeld said.
"In the long haul, if that's going to be the future in terms of society's way of making change and getting their voices heard, and to the extent that there's going to be counter-protests and the need for police on scene of those, we're going to have to look at a different model for how we staff that because we are seeing changes as well."
City administration has recommended 28 items for city funding with proposed investment in three main areas: transit, housing and public safety.
The Calgary Fire Department is seeking additional funding for next year to introduce a second medical response unit downtown. The medical units use a smaller vehicle and respond with two firefighters.
Calgary Fire Chief Steve Dongworth said the existing medical unit is responding to a massive increase in overdoses. The department is asking the city for an additional $3.4 million in funding to implement a second response unit.
"Now we see the growth is so explosive in medical call volume downtown. The best impact we can have on service for citizens is to put it in the downtown core," Dongworth said.
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