50 new Calgary police officers to be funded by provincial government

The province is pledging to cover salaries, benefits, equipment and vehicles for 50 new Calgary Police Service officers to patrol high-crime areas and boost safety.

CPS says recruiting has already started and the first half of the new members could arrive by January, with the rest coming later next year.

"There's no denying that the increase of crime and social disorder that began during the pandemic has not gone away," said Mike Ellis, Alberta's minister of public safety.

Ellis made the announcement Tuesday morning in Calgary, the day after he unveiled plans to hire 50 officers in Edmonton. Alberta will front $4.16 million right away, while additional funding for Calgary will arrive in the next budget.

"The addition of these new officers is going to help us to create several new teams in the city, whose primary role will be to focus on individuals involved in committing crimes, but also on those high-systems users across our city," said Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld.

The new officers will mostly be deployed downtown and near public transit stations, but the service will be able to re-deploy to other areas if needed, Neufeld added.

Alberta minister of public safety Mike Ellis made the announcement Tuesday morning in Calgary, the day after he unveiled plans to hire 50 officers in Edmonton. Alberta will front $4.16 million dollars right away, while more funding for Calgary will come in the next budget.

"We're happy to see additional enforcement and as a city we're always there to provide that," said Jasmine Mian, the Ward 3 councillor.

"But until we see real movement on addictions and mental health and additions on housing, I don't think we're ever going to see any (resolutions) on these issues," she said.

INVESTMENTS 'MUST-NEEDED': DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION

In addition to violence and social disorder, downtown businesses have been reporting a recent rise in the amount of damage being done to storefronts.

"We've seen an influx of just damages to property over the last two to three weeks and the burden of replacing windows cannot just be placed on businesses," said Mark Garner with the Calgary Downtown Association.

Garner says businesses in the core have reported 26 smashed or broken windows in the last three weeks, with collectives damage estimated to around $100,000.

Members of the CDA are supportive and happy with the hiring of more officers, Garner says, but they know there needs to be a long-term plan to better help people with mental health and addictions.

"This is just temporary and just one of the things that needs to happen," Garner said. "It needs to be ongoing. We need additional resources in the downtown core."