1 month in, city says Safer Calgary program has been a success

The City of Calgary says its new safety program is showing promising results, one month after its implementation.

The Safer Calgary program launched on Feb. 17 as a joint effort between police, peace officers and community partners to address crime and social disorder such as drug use in public areas.

As part of the program, the Calgary Police Service (CPS) Community Engagement Response Teams work with peace officers from Community Safety and Transit Public Safety, as well as community outreach support groups such as Alpha House.

Since Safer Calgary began last month, the city reports that more than 230 charges have been laid, 1,464 arrest warrants have been fulfilled and 1,060 tickets have been issued. The city added that 1,151 social agency referrals have been made and there have been more than 1,128 business engagements.

"I think the numbers kind of speak for themselves," acting CPS Staff Sgt. Derek Klassen said.

"We've been working really closely with our arrest processing section, with the Calgary Courts Centre, community court, just to get people to the right network, right social partners, to actually get them the help that they need."

The safety program was expedited after the province requested increased collaboration between police and community peace officers, the city says.

Klassen added that social disorder has been rising since broad public health restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic came to an end, and Safer Calgary is a culmination of efforts from various agencies to respond to that increase.

"This program is really working," Klassen said. 

"When we talk about the stats, when we compare them to years past, I think it's just really making an overall difference in the downtown core, along the transit lines and elsewhere in the city,"

As police presence increases in some parts of Calgary, Klassen acknowledged that social disorder issues can be displaced into other areas of the city, which CPS is also monitoring.

Charlene Wilson, senior director at Alpha House, says Safer Calgary is key to ensuring community safety around the city.

"Everybody in Calgary is a community member. Encampments do arise and there is challenges with those pieces," Wilson said. 

"When folks are unhoused, those resources are even more valuable. Displacement happens and having these collaborations is what reduces that."

She added that Alpha House wants to reduce unnecessary policing when their goal is to build rapport with unhoused people and provide them with shelter. 

Organizations like Alpha House have worked closely, albeit informally, with Calgary police and peace officers in the past. Wilson said over the years the relationship between their organizations has grown as they've attended to the same calls.

"It's a twofold approach. You have the enforcement aspect that sometimes is needed, but there's that social component that is so key," Wilson said. "So when they're working together side by side, they're attending calls with Calgary Transit, we have our help teams directly with them everyday."