In the wake of the municipal election and with a city budget looming, Calgary police officers put safety enforcement on display Wednesday, carrying out a sweep of the downtown core to address rising crime in the area.
A swarm of officers were pulled from other jurisdictions to roam downtown streets and transit hubs as part of Operation Order, which combined community outreach and law enforcement.
Calgary Police Chief Katie McLellan said as of 4:30 p.m. officers had arrested 20 people, executed 180 outstanding warrants and seized several weapons. They also referred more than 60 vulnerable Calgarians to social services.
Violence in the core (the Beltline, Chinatown, Downtown East Village, Downtown West End, Eau Claire and the Downtown Commercial Core) is at a six-year high, according to city statistics.
“We know that many Calgarians are feeling uneasy in our downtown core,” said McLellan.
WATCH | Police conduct downtown crackdown:
‘Enough is enough’: police target rising violence, social disorder downtown
Calgary’s police chief says the perception is real: people don’t feel safe downtown, with calls for service hitting a six-year high. Officers hit the streets to address the problem on Wednesday, but Chief Katie McLellan says more officers are needed for a long-term solution.
The chief said street robberies and assaults are primarily driving those rising violent crime rates, with many of the assaults targeted against shelter workers and law enforcement.
Disorder — like calls for disturbances, unwanted guests and drug concerns — is also at a six-year high, according to the city.
“This is not just about statistics. This is also about how people feel when they walk through our streets, ride transit or visit public spaces,” said McLellan.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their city, and this operation will save lives.”
A pre-election poll by Janet Brown Opinion Research for CBC News found more than 80 per cent of residents said reducing crime and improving public safety was a top priority in casting their vote.
Mix of enforcement and compassionate care
As part of the sweep, officers employed a carrot and stick approach.
In some cases, they spoke to vulnerable Calgarians and tried to connect them with help, such as a shelter or addictions services.
In others, they issued tickets for bylaw infractions or made arrests.
“We don’t want vulnerable people to have criminal records — that’s not the goal here,” said McLellan. “But the goal is that if we have to arrest them, to take them to social services and support services.”
And that access to services is key, the Calgary Homeless Foundation’s Bo Masterson said in a statement.
“Initiatives like Operation Order underscore the importance of a co-ordinated, person-centred system that meets people where they are and responds to their unique needs,” said Masterson, the organization’s vice-president of stakeholder engagement.
“Homelessness is a complex issue that intersects with housing, health, justice and social services.”
Bylaw tickets were issued as part of the downtown safety sweep by Calgary police on Wednesday. One person who is homeless received a ticket for dropping a cigarette butt on the ground. (Mike Symington/CBC News)
Throughout the day, Calgary police shared updates on social media: individuals connected with addictions resources, arrests were made on outstanding warrants, and tickets handed out for acts like loitering.
Grant Robinson, who has been homeless for two years, was among those ticketed. He was dinged for tossing a cigarette on the ground — an action he refutes doing.
He said he has seen firsthand the downtown become less safe.
“It’s getting worse, because people are not getting housed, and it’s going to be like New York soon,” Robinson said.
The majority of crime is coming from a relatively small number of repeat offenders — about 75 of them, according to Calgary Police Supt. Scott Boyd.
“They do a disproportionate amount of crime on any given day throughout Calgary,” said Boyd.
Businesses targeted
Katie Thies, executive director of the Beltline Business Improvement Area, has noticed those chronic reoffenders and said they need to be addressed.
“Some of them, they will get picked up by the police and then they’re out not even five hours later,” said Thies.
Thies said Beltline businesses have seen a steady increase in petty crimes in recent years, everything from vandalism to patios set on fire to thefts and break-ins that total hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of loss.
While Thies thinks a majority of people still feel safe living in and visiting the area, for some, the level of crime is a concern.
“It does make them a little bit weary to come down here, especially maybe in the evening or once the sun starts to go down,” said Thies.
Bill Zheng with the Chinatown BIA says graffiti is becoming an increased concern for businesses. (Submitted by Bill Zheng)
In Chinatown, graffiti is an issue, so much so that Bill Zheng with the Chinatown BIA said some business owners have given up paying the hundreds of dollars it can cost to have it removed.
“They’re just letting the graffiti sit on the walls because they know that if they pay for the service to be cleaned, [the vandals are] going to come back in the next two days,” said Zheng.
The district is also seeing issues with seniors targeted by distraction thefts and complaints about street racing on Centre Street, Zheng said.
Zheng and Thies agree the blitz is a good start, but said more needs to be done.
“We need these efforts to be consistent. It cannot be a one-day event that they’re doing because the problem’s going to keep coming back,” said Zheng.
More boots on the ground
During her news conference Wednesday morning, the police chief pushed back against the idea this was a one-day blitz. She said enforcement will continue in the days and weeks to come, but to do that, she needs more staff.
Officers from across the city were pulled to focus on the downtown core as part of a day-long safety blitz Wednesday. (Colleen Underwood/CBC News)
A memo from the Calgary Police Association in September said about a fifth of local police members are on leave or on accommodation due to physical or mental injuries. McLellan said a number of those officers are still contributing to the force, even if they are not on patrol.
The proposed city budget tabled prior to the election promised $61 million for addressing downtown safety. The newly formed council will vote on that budget at the end of November.
But it’s not just boots on the ground that Calgary police want. McLellan said more money is needed to provide safe day spaces for those seeking shelter. She also wants a bylaw passed banning open-air drug use.
McLellan said the timing of the blitz — coming just after the municipal election and ahead of the new council’s budget review and approval — was not strategic but had been in the works for several months since she took the top job in May.
Arthur Green, spokesperson to Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis, said in a statement that Operation Order marks “clear, decisive action that makes our city safer.”
“These statistics underscore the urgency of our ongoing efforts and the need for a multifaceted, co-ordinated approach across all levels of government and partner agencies,” the statement read.
