Provincial pilot project to add 12 sheriffs to Calgary's downtown core

There's going to be an increased presence of law enforcement in Calgary's inner city over the next few months.

On Tuesday, the provincial government announced a 12-week pilot project where they are sending a dozen Alberta Sheriffs to Calgary's downtown core.

It's part of an initiative created in partnership with the Calgary Police Service. The sheriffs are intended to help prevent crime and respond to an increasing level of social disorder in the inner city, officials said.

"This initiative increases public safety by putting more eyes and ears in neighbourhoods where they're needed and creates a more visible officer presence that will help deter crime while connecting vulnerable Albertans to the supports they need," said Mike Ellis, minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services.

The program will begin on Feb 27. and go until May 31.

The 12 sheriffs will be assigned to work with existing CPS beat and bike teams. Data identifying crime and social disorder hotspots will be used to place sheriffs.

"Through many conversations with Calgarians and the business community, we have clearly heard the need to take further action around public safety," said Mayor Jyoti Gondek, in a statement.

"These additional resources will help connect people to the services they require, creating a safer, more supportive environment for all."

Following the program's end in late May, law enforcement officials will evaluate the project before deciding on next steps.

More needs to be done: Opposition

NDP Municipal Affairs Critic Joe Ceci says the program will do nothing to affect the underlying issues creating disorder in downtown Calgary.

"While an increased presence of law enforcement will be helpful in some situations, it does not address the root causes of the challenges facing our city," he said.

Ceci noted that Calgary's downtown core continues to struggle with high vacancy rates, concerns about safety, and a perceived lack of vibrancy. 

"The UCP has offered next to nothing to support the revitalization of downtown Calgary," he said. "In fact, they've made a bad situation worse through the downloading of costs onto municipalities while refusing to build affordable housing or provide funding for supportive housing units."
 
Ceci previously served as an alderman on the Calgary City Council.

Not a long-term solution, neighbourhood association says

Despite increasing safety concerns in downtown Calgary, Peter Oliver doesn't believe that additional law enforcement will tackle the problems people face.

He's with the Beltline Neighbourhoods Association and sees the issues in the area first-hand — such as a lack of access for people suffering from mental health and addiction as well as housing affordability.

The addition of sheriffs, he said, just masks the problem for those who transit in and out of downtown.

"What we typically see with that is it's basically just sweeping the problem down around the corner, pushing it into the alley, pushing it just out of sight," Oliver said.

"So maybe for the person who commutes downtown to the train station and then back home, maybe it just hides it around a corner behind a dumpster. But they're not actually solving the problem. And in fact, they're probably making it worse."

Oliver said that the province did not reach out to his community association to understand their perspective on the issues that residents face and believes the government is spending their money in the wrong places.

"Throwing a bunch of cops at it at the last minute, with the cops from the provinces, just like … it is just performative," he said.