Town hall meeting looks to address northeast Calgary crime
One city councillor hosted a town hall meeting Saturday with social agencies and police to address rising crime rates in northeast Calgary.
Raj Dhaliwal is concerned with the amount of dangerous crime in Ward 5 and says the area's reputation is in need of cleaning up.
He believes a good place to start is by addressing social issues within some of the hardest struck neighbourhoods in Calgary.
"I don't want to hear, 'it's not my problem, it's their problem,'" he said. "It's our problem."
Gun violence in Calgary is on the rise.
In the first four months of 2022 alone, there were 54 shootings in the city.
"And 26 of them were north of 16th Avenue," Dhaliwal said. "That to me is very sad."
That number had risen to 63 by June.
Police stats show more homicides related to organized crime, and it's apparent officers have had a tough time keeping gun crime down.
"So they said to me, 'Raj, this is not just our problem anymore. This is a community problem.'"
That community problem was addressed at length during the Saturday town hall. Northeast families and neighbourhood leaders attended to listen and ask questions of those on hand.
The area is home to many new Canadians, and Dhaliwal believes the way different cultures are policed may need a retooling.
"It's a western perspective — western modelling — we see that's being applied to problem-solving with those cultures," he said. "And that's where the problem starts. What works for some doesn't work for all."
Language or faith barriers can often serve to confuse or amplify smaller issues.
The town hall tried to address those gaps and teach about services available to kids and parents in the area.
Dhaliwal says future town halls or similar forums haven't been ruled out.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
BREAKING McGill University seeks emergency injunction to remove pro-Palestinian encampment from campus
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.