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Calgary has been without a centralized police station since November 2017, when CPS shuttered its satellite office in Victoria Park
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Bringing a police station back to the core is among the recommendations Calgary’s Downtown Safety Leadership Table will put forward to city council later this winter — a suggestion a police superintendent says the department is on board with.
Co-chairs Mark Garner and Heather Morley outlined three of the downtown safety task force’s initial recommendations on Thursday.
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They said the suggestions, which also include 24-7 outreach and more immediate funding for specialized housing for people facing addiction and mental-health challenges, are based on four months of consultation with more than 40 stakeholders on how to make Calgary’s downtown safer.
“We’re not going to get a station tomorrow, but a station needs to be on the radar,” said Garner, who is also executive director of the Calgary Downtown Association.
Calgary hasn’t had a downtown police station since November 2017, when the Calgary Police Service (CPS) shuttered its satellite station in Victoria Park.
The move — prompted by efforts to improve financial and operational efficiencies — saw officers who were stationed at that facility redeployed to CPS’ District 1 office in Ramsay.
The lack of a brick-and-mortar police presence in the downtown amid ongoing concerns about rising crime (or the perception of rising crime) has prompted calls to reopen a central police station.
Former city councillors Druh Farrell and Jeromy Farkas requested an administrative inquiry in 2019, tasking city staff with determining the feasibility of re-establishing a police station in the core.
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Administration unveiled five potential options at the time, including the former Greyhound bus terminal and former central public library.
Other options included the former downtown fire hall at 6th Avenue and 1st Street S.E., the former Calgary Economic Development space at the Telus Convention Centre, and the North-West Travellers building at 5th Avenue and 1st Street S.E.
But at the time, both the city and CPS stated they were not actively exploring the idea. Police officials said substantial investment would be required to reopen a downtown station, even if the space was provided for free or at a low cost.
Garner said the ideal spot would be a city-owned property between downtown and the Beltline, based on population density and the calls police respond to.
It would likely take three to five years to establish such a facility, Garner added.
He cited Kitchener, Ont., as an example of a city that recently adapted a downtown facility into a revitalized police station.
According to the Waterloo Region Record, the Region of Waterloo bought a former provincial courthouse for $6.4 million, then spent an additional $35 million to convert the space into a new central police station. It opened in September 2023.
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CPS on board with recommendation, says superintendent
While the idea seemed to receive lukewarm feedback in 2019, a CPS official said Thursday the department is on board with the idea of reopening a downtown police station.
Supt. Scott Boyd told Postmedia that CPS supports the recommendation and has both short- and mid-term solutions in the works.
While CPS currently has a physical safety “hub” along Stephen Avenue that officers can access, Boyd said the department is negotiating space agreements to set up a more comprehensive downtown site that includes front-counter service for the public.
“It’s a chance for us, bylaw and transit partners to have a touch-down site, do some paperwork and then head back out on the street,” he said.
“We’ve received great feedback that coming-and-going officer presence is great, but it would be better if we could allow public access to it to report crimes, collisions and other connectivity with the police.”
As for a longer-term solution, Boyd said CPS wants to consult with the city to determine an ideal spot to put a new police station, considering traffic flows, accessibility and the types of events taking place in downtown Calgary in the future.
“We’ve now put ourselves in a position to understand where those major icons are going to be in the downtown. Now, we can move to the next phase . . . to look to secure the right spot to allow us in the future to build a police station.”
The group’s recommendations will be compiled into a report and delivered to the city in March.
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