Social disorder in public spaces on the rise in Calgary: report

A new report by Vibrant Communities Calgary found that social disorder is on the rise in Calgary, and incidents are increasingly happening in public spaces like transit.

A new report by Vibrant Communities Calgary found that social disorder is on the rise in Calgary, and incidents are increasingly happening in public spaces like transit.

The 58-page report, titled “No Place To Go,” found that calls for police related to social disorder at LRT stations across Calgary have sharply increased in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, calls for service were back to pre-pandemic levels.

The report defines social disorder as conversations from transit peace officers or Calgary Police Service officers related to littering, loitering, fare evasion and urinating or defecating in transit stations. However, they are not usually criminal in nature.

Calls for police related to mental health concerns have increased by 38 per cent from 2018 to 2022, the report said.

There was also a 186 per cent increase in toxic drug deaths in the Calgary zone from 2016 to 2023, and they are happening more and more in public spaces. In 2023, public spaces accounted for 53 per cent of toxic drug deaths in Calgary, a major shift from previous years where deaths mostly occurred in private spaces.

Fentanyl is the most common substance causing toxic drug deaths in Calgary (65 per cent in 2023), followed by methamphetamine (49 per cent) and cocaine (31 per cent).

Reports of encampments also increased by 410 per cent in 2023 compared with 2018, and many Calgarians that researchers interviewed said the CTrain network sees more social disorder than the bus system.

The report said Chinook, Marlborough Mall, Sunalta and Victoria Park stations have been “particularly problematic” in terms of social disorder, along with stations along the Free Fare Zone downtown.