IMPACT ASSESSMENT

BACKGROUND & FULL ANALYSIS

EXTERNAL REPORT – ISC: UNCLASSIFIED

AUG. 14, 2023

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BACKGROUND

The Calgary Police Service District 1 Beat Teams partnered with 12 members of the Alberta
Sheriffs to create an integrated team for a 12-week period between Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, to
Wednesday, May 31, 2023. This partnership was created to increase law enforcement
resources to combat social disorder concerns specific to downtown Calgary.

The operation was named the Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST)
downtown safety initiative. CREST encompassed a broader strategy to address crime and
disorder in downtown Calgary and increase the physical and perception of safety for the public.
In addition to the partnership with the Sheriffs, Operation CREST also included a variety of units
such as Community Resource Officers (CROs), Downtown Response Teams (DRT), Mountain
Bike Units (MBU), District Operations Teams (DOT), patrol members and was supplemented by
covert resources.

The primary objective of these efforts was to deliver a coordinated highly visible police presence
and direct law enforcement response to areas in the core of community concern. The
deployment direction was fluid and based on identified areas of criminality, social disorder and
specific to community concerns driven by analytical support.

SHERIFF/BEAT DEPLOYMENT MODEL

Establishing a Base Line

Social disorder analysis was completed to identify the historical trend for social disorder calls for
service (CFS) in Centre City communities for the previous five years. Though 86% of CFS came
from the Beltline and Downtown Commercial Core in 2018, the proportion of calls from these
two communities reduced to almost 79% by 2022 with Downtown East Village merging as the
community of concern, with an ever increasing number of calls.

CFS related to disturbance, mental health and indecent acts had historically trended up in
Centre City communities while other social disorder trended down. However, the proportion of
CFS related to unwanted guests increased to 48% in 2022 from 40% in 2018, and suspicious
person reduced to 17% in 2022 from 23% in 2018. Calls related to mental health concerns
almost doubled in 2022 over the base year (2018). Almost 80% of the calls in 2022 were driven
by suspicious person, unwanted guest and disturbance calls, with mental health concerns and
indecent acts continuing to increase. From a seasonal perspective, the month of July was
identified as typically drawing the highest number of calls for service annually.
Publicly generated social disorder was mapped to identify key hotspot locations with higher
density of public calls for service in Centre City for the same deployment months (March to May
2022). These were ordered by call for service volumes.
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Targeted Deployment Locations
As a result, three communities (Downtown Commercial Core, Downtown East Village and
Beltline) were identified for focus, with five locations in particular noted. City Hall/Olympic
Plaza, the Drop In Center/RioCan, Century Gardens, Central Memorial Park, and Stephen
Avenue Mall were identified as key locations requiring consistent police presence to reduce
public social disorder complaints. These five locations were assigned for targeted deployment,
four of which became the focus of the CREST Sheriff/Beat teams. The teams were not initially
deployed to CTrains, though CTrain stations in the downtown core were included if they were
identified as an area of concern. Sheriff/Beat Teams were also dispatched to respond to public
calls for service as a normal course of duty.

Consultation with the Calgary Downtown Association (CDA) and Downtown Ambassador
initiative led to additional areas of concern identified by business owners, who were
experiencing repetitive disorder activity, that was not reflective in CPS data, due to call diversion
efforts involving Calgary 211 and DOAP. Weekly location updates were provided by the CDA
and included for deployment consideration for the Sheriff/Beat partnerships during their weekly
shifts. 10-99 calls were loaded onto CAD for each of these five locations for the duration of the
Sheriff/Beat deployment period for tracking purposes.

A total of 30 members deployed on two separate teams that followed different shift schedules:
• Sheriff/Beat Team 1 comprised of a maximum of 9 CPS Beat members, 6 Sheriffs
• Sheriff/Beat Team 2 comprised of a maximum of 9 CPS Beat members, 6 Sheriffs

At the outset of Operation CREST, deployment zones were identified based on public-
generated crime and disorder calls for service in peak times prior to the pilot. These deployment
zones were captured within community crime data in relation to the following areas:
• East Village – primarily centered around the Drop-In Centre and RioCan shopping
complex, Central Library, Tim Hortons, Flyover, Riverfront and Fourth Street corridor
• Downtown Commercial Core– Olympic Plaza, Rocky Mountain Plaza, Cathedral
Church, Stephen Avenue, Seventh Avenue and Eighth Street S.W. and Century
Gardens
• Beltline – Circle K, Hudsons Canada’s Pub, Sheldon Chumir Medical Centre and
Central Memorial Park

Within the first two weeks of deployment, the Central Memorial Park deployment was re-
assigned to the District 1 MBU teams based on disorder feedback from the Calgary Downtown
Association Ambassador program and the desire to keep deployment focused on priority areas.

Safe Public Spaces Action Plan

At the beginning of April, CPS launched the Transit and Public Spaces Safety initiative due to
increases in crime and disorder at CTrain stations across the city. As a result, CTrain stations
along the 7 Avenue corridor were included as part of the Sheriff/Beat Teams’ deployment.
Four stations in the downtown core were selected based on weekly disorder statistics provided
by Calgary Transit; City Hall, Centre Street, Fourth Street and Eighth Street.

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This shift in patrol priority, impacted the number of calls Sheriff/Beat Teams cross-referenced to
the original identified deployment zones in the latter weeks of deployment.

Partnerships
Operation CREST included several partnerships and collaboration with other ongoing
alternative call response and crisis diversion models underway. This is important to note as call
diversion efforts do impact CFS data by diverting calls that would have otherwise come to police
from other agencies. Partners include:
• Downtown Ambassador Program,
• CDA/Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) (significant investment in
private security and CPTED improvements)
• 911/211 Call Diversion Initiative
• Downtown Outreach and Addictions Partnership (DOAP) Dispatch Project/ Human-
centred Engagement and Liaison Partnership (HELP)
• Public Safety Response Working Group
• Transit Community Outreach Teams

IMPACT STUDY

Methodology

The analysis covers both public and officer-generated calls for service related to disorder with
call subclass of Advised by PSC, Callback, On-view and Dispatched from CAD as a data
source. Key communities where the Sheriff/Beat partnerships were deployed (Beltline,
Downtown Commercial Core and Downtown East Village), social disorder type and year of
same period (March-May) were examined to determine the effectiveness of the Sheriffs
deployment. Analysis was also completed on pre-identified key hotspots to assess impact of
deployment on call volume. Hotspot analysis and the maps offer spatial insights at the key
locations identified prior to implementation to assess displacement.

Key Finding by Event Type

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Public Generated CFS by Event Type, Mar - May Data
Event Type 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 5 Yr Avg Difference Percentage of Percentage of
(2018-2022) total 5 year Total 2023
DISTURBANCE 2314 2278 2281 2115 2564 2568 2310 11.15% 25% 27%
MISCELLANEOUS 863 819 886 1346 1580 1513 1099 37.70% 12% 16%
SUSPICIOUS 1097 1199 1109 1031 863 881 1060 -16.87% 12% 9%
CHECK ON WELFARE 812 797 778 751 948 938 817 14.78% 9% 10%
THEFT 628 703 404 411 628 569 555 2.56% 6% 6%
911 432 423 280 255 295 297 337 -11.87% 4% 3%
PROPERTY 268 415 232 258 372 375 309 21.36% 3% 4%
MENTAL HEALTH 211 240 184 291 309 316 247 27.94% 3% 3%
MEDICAL 207 249 259 308 297 112 264 -57.58% 3% 1%
ASSISTANCE 298 312 311 223 124 136 254 -46.37% 3% 1%
DOMESTIC 241 204 206 220 263 253 227 11.55% 3% 3%
COLLISION 301 235 130 157 228 242 210 15.13% 2% 3%
FRAUD 286 173 177 142 130 147 182 -19.05% 2% 2%
BREAK AND ENTER 203 287 188 132 109 127 184 -30.90% 2% 1%
ASSAULT 156 174 126 157 183 236 159 48.24% 2% 2%
TRAFFIC 210 178 85 133 134 120 148 -18.92% 2% 1%
DRUGS 167 139 156 129 131 128 144 -11.36% 2% 1%
ALARM 137 105 113 118 152 224 125 79.20% 1% 2%
NOISE 106 105 152 157 100 75 124 -39.52% 1% 1%
HARASSMENT/THREATS 108 98 92 111 130 146 108 35.44% 1% 2%
MISSING PERSON 60 54 52 71 82 124 64 94.36% 1% 1%
SEXUAL OFFENCES 53 45 22 46 50 58 43 34.26% 0% 1%
DISPUTE 49 50 82 60 -100.00% 1% 0%
ROBBERY 26 24 21 41 22 37 27 38.06% 0% 0%
MAJOR CODES 13 9 7 9 17 13 11 18.18% 0% 0%
ABDUCTION 1
DISPATCH CODES 1
ESCAPED PRISONER 1 1 -100.00% 0%

Its important to note that the majority of calls for service in the downtown core are disorder
related and non-criminal in nature. Public generated CFS were pulled by event types for the
deployment period (March to May) for 2018-2023. 55% of the top event type CFS for the
deployment period in 2023 are in relation to disturbance, check on welfare calls,
suspicious persons and miscellaneous calls. In comparison, calls for service with a
dispatch type of “Assault” made up 2% of total calls for service downtown for both the
2018 to 2022 and 2023 (March to May period) in Downtown communities. Though only
2% of the total call load downtown, Assault calls for service increased by 48% over the
five-year average during the deployment period. It was also noted that Property, Mental
Health, Domestic, Alarm, Harassment/Threats, missing persons, sexual offences and
robbery calls for service were all higher than the five- year average during the
deployment period.
Though only representative of 2% of the overall
CFS in the downtown communities, assault
calls for service have continued to rise, year
over year, since 2020.

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Key Findings by Community
Table 1: Public and Officer Generated All Types of CFS (March-May, 2018-2023)

• The overall growth in calls for service (CFS) have been mainly driven by the
substantially higher number of proactive (officer generated) calls in the pilot
communities.
• Downtown Commercial Core and East Village experienced a substantial increase in
publicly generated CFS during the pilot period over the five-year average and same
period last year. This may be attributed to several factors, including ongoing police
operations related to the Safe Public Spaces Action Plan, as well as an unseasonably
warm April and May.
• The vast majority of CFS pertain to non-criminal matters such as suspicious person,
unwanted guests and check on welfare. Forty per cent of total public and officer-
generated CFS are comprised of social disorder.

Disorder

Figure 1: Public Generated CFS by Quarter (2018-2023)

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Figure 1 demonstrates the seasonality of disorder issues within the three communities. Note the
steady increase of public-reported disorder within the East Village, which may also be related to
the increasing residential population in the area and high-density social supports in the area.

Table 2: Total CFS by Sheriff Deployment Communities (March – May 2023)

When comparing the same time period (March to May) in 2022, the public generated calls for
service for all call types in the East Village increased by 13% in 2023. The Beltline observed a
5% reduction in public-generated calls for service while the Downtown Commercial Core noticed
a marginal decrease of 1.5% change. There was the same trend in terms of public-generated
disorder calls for services in three communities. Furthermore, there were no significant changes
in call volume when comparing January to February prior to the deployment and in June after
the deployment.
Spatial Analysis
March to May data for three years (2019, 2022 and 2023) were spatially analyzed to determine
the hotspots within the deployment communities and assess the qualitative difference between
pre-deployment and deployment periods.

Comparative Analysis of Public-Generated CFS (March-May 2019 and 2022)

There were four distinct hotspots in the pilot areas in 2019 and 2022 (City Hall/Olympic Plaza,
Stephen Avenue, Seventh Avenue and Eighth Street S.W. and Central Memorial Park). 2019
was used as the comparative year to account for the behaviours prior to the COVID-19
pandemic. As observed in 2022, people returned to their “typical” patterns and locations after
the pandemic.

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Public-Generated Social Disorder CFS Hotspots Pre-Deployment & Deployment

Pre-Deployment Jan-Feb 2023

Deployment March-May 2023

When comparing social disorder hotspots from the pre-deployment period (January to February
2023) to the deployment period (March to May 2023), the Drop-In Centre (DI) hotspot expanded
with an additional hotspot south of the DI appearing. Hotspots around City Hall/Olympic Plaza
became more concentrated, as well as the area around the RioCan complex. The intensity
changes in hotspots around the DI, City Hall/Olympic Plaza and the East Village Tim Hortons
may be indicative of displacement from other areas in the downtown core. Interestingly, all other
hotspots within the three deployment communities were less profound, apart from the parking
lot to the west of the Sheldon Chumir and east of Hudson’s Pub downtown . Seasonality is a
consideration, as the weather warms up, people tend to gather more in public spaces and we
see an increase in encampments.
Call for Service Analysis

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Over the three-month period, there were 2,584 calls for service that CREST members attended
(accounting for 26% of the total District 1 calls for service). Approximately 80% of the calls were
officer-generated. Top 10 CFS subtypes were suspicious person, unwanted guest, wanted,
traffic stops, disturbance, check on welfare, medical collapse, miscellaneous, drug
use/possession and intoxication.
10-99 Deployment Zones - Total Calls for Service –
Below is the breakdown of the top five calls for service event types by deployment zones. Of
note, these only include calls that are cross-referenced to the respective 10-99s (calls for
service generated during proactive patrols). The total percentage of the calls for each zone is
compared to the total number of calls that were attended.

East Village: 129 (5%)

Event Subtype Percentage of Calls Attended

Suspicious person 36%
Unwanted guest 19%
Wanted 15%
Miscellaneous 11%
Wanted 4%

Olympic Plaza: 169 (7%)

Event Subtype Percentage of Calls Attended

Suspicious person 36%
Unwanted guest 24%
Wanted 14%
Disturbance 8%
Check on welfare 3%

Stephen Ave: 206 (8%)

Event Subtype Percentage of Calls Attended

Suspicious person 42%
Unwanted guest 21%
Wanted 10%
Miscellaneous 4%
Check on welfare 3%

7 Ave x 8 St: 63 (2%)

Event Subtype Percentage of Calls Attended

Suspicious person 33%
Unwanted guest 16%
Wanted 13%
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Medical collapses 5%
Disturbance 5%

Central Memorial: 38 (2%)

Event Subtype Percentage of Calls Attended

Suspicious person 37%
Wanted 13%
Miscellaneous 11%
Unwanted guest 11%
Check on welfare 8%

Most common Criminal Code charge

Charge category Count of

occurrence
Breach of release order 52
Drugs 25
Theft 13
Mischief 10
Causing disturbance 9
Assault peace officer 6
Assault 5
Obstruct police 4
Threats 4
Breach of sentence order 4
Assault weapon 3
Possession of stolen property/ 3
proceeds of crime
Impaired 3
Trespassing 2

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Traffic 2
Forcible confinement 1
Robbery 1
Possession of body armour 1
Sexual assault 1
Fraud 1
Many of the reports of note involving criminal code charges involved CREST officers
being approached by members of the public and business owners for assistance in
dealing with individuals who were exhibited unwelcome and unpredictable behaviour.
The subjects of these complaints were often reportedly yelling profanities, throwing
items and/or threatening staff or bystanders with physical violence. Search incident to
arrest located weapons such as bear spray, a hammer, a bat and various edged
weapons.
REPORTS OF NOTE (INTERNAL ONLY)
CA23137147 – Assault with Weapon at RioCan – On April 3, 2023, security was working at
the RioCan property (428 6 Avenue S.E.) when they located a male subject in the parkade.
Security requested the male to leave to which he refused becoming confrontational, and started
swinging a pickaxe at security. No contact was made and the male exited out of the parkade
onto 6 Avenue S.E. where CREST Sheriffs/Beat members happened to be. The male was
arrested and later released by way of an Undertaking.
CA23158665 – Weapon Possession on Centre Street CTrain – On April 17, 2023, a male
subject was walking along Centre Street CTrain platform (124 7 Avenue S.E.) yelling
obscenities. Transit users were visibly disturbed by his behaviour as he was acting aggressive
and erratic. As CREST Sheriffs/Beats members walked towards the male, they observed him
approaching a female, removing a hammer from his backpack. The male was seen holding the
hammer in his hand. When CREST members spoke with the male, the hammer was discarded
by a sign next to him. The male was arrested. During the arrest, the male continued to yell
obscenities and attempt to resist his arrest. The male was transported to the Alpha House
where he was released on an Appearance Notice.
CA23162814 – Disturbance – On April 20, 2023, a male subject was walking around in the
200-block of 8 Avenue S.W., screaming and yelling at people. The male was also throwing
items in their direction and destroying property including a vase and an iPad. CREST
Sheriff/Beat members were flagged down by a patron who was walking to work and appeared to
be scared, as she was almost struck by one of the items thrown by the male. CREST members
quickly located the male and arrested him. The male was transported to Arrest Processing for a
courtesy hold and would be released by way of an Appearance Notice.
CA23147172 – Assault at 8 Street McDonald’s – On April 10, 2023, a female subject entered
McDonald’s (709 8 Street S.W.) asking staff if she could use the public washroom. Staff advised
that the washrooms were temporarily out of order and were locked at the time. The female
became irate, started screaming at staff, then sat on the counter as if to enter the staff-only
area, then left the restaurant. The female returned with a bottle in her hand and began
screaming again. She sat on the counter, swung her legs into the staff-only area and picked up
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a metal container filled with straws, throwing it at one of the staff members, striking him in the
arm. No injuries were sustained. The female then left the store again. CREST Sheriffs/Beats
members were patrolling 8 Street CTrain platform when they were approached by the restaurant
manager and staff and were advised of the incident. CREST members circulated the area and
located the female at the intersection at 9 Avenue and 8 Street S.W. The female was arrested.
CCTV was reviewed and confirmed the assault. The female stated that she was looking for a
washroom to use for over 30 minutes and denied throwing any object at the staff member. The
female was released on an Appearance Notice.
Most common warrants executed

Criminal Code Warrants # of Warrants Executed

Failure to attend court 756
Failure to appear 285
Failure to comply 253
Bylaw infractions 185
Trespass Act/Bylaw 149
Theft 147
Bylaw loitering 74
Traffic Safety Act 72
Mischief 58
Possession of stolen 52
property under $5,000
Assault 49
Drug possession 47
Assault with a weapon 35
Intoxicated in public 33
Break and enter 27
Resist/obstruct peace 20
officer
Carry concealed weapon 19
Possess/Traffic Credit 17
Card
Drug trafficking 16
Possess weapon 15
dangerous purpose
Utter threats 15
Assault peace officer 12
Cause disturbance/loiter 10

The vast majority of the arrests pertaining to outstanding warrants involved people who
were exhibiting concerning behaviour, while believed to be under the influence of
substances. Many involved cases of open-air drug use. In one case of an individual who
was wanted on a Mental Health Act Form 23 warrant, who also had six outstanding
Criminal Code warrants and who admitted to officers that he would not comply with
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appointment or medication expectations of his Community Treatment Order. In another
interaction, a distraught individual was laying on the CTrain tracks and advised officers
he had been released from Remand the day prior and was experiencing withdrawls.
Several calls involved weapons being seized from individuals who were not abiding by
previous conditions.

REPORTS OF NOTE (INTERNAL ONLY)

IN23005568 – Mental Health Warrant – On April 29, 2023, CREST Sheriff/Beat members were
patrolling around East Village when they located a male subject inside of Tim Horton’s (775 4
Street S.E.). Through CPS systems, it was determined that the male had a Mental Health Act
Form 23 warrant issued to him. CPIC checks confirmed the warrant as well as six Criminal
Code warrants. The male was arrested. The male was also flagged in CPS systems as a PACT-
Community Treatment Order client and required medication. MRT was notified and requested
the male to be transported to Peter Lougheed Centre (PLC) for his injections. The male was
polite with CREST members throughout the interaction and admitted that he would not take the
injections voluntarily and is unlikely to comply with any appointment expectations.
CA23138305 – Failure to Comply to Release Orders – On April 4, 2023, CREST
Sheriffs/Beat members were conducting patrols in the alleyway south of the Circle K (705 8
Street S.W.) where they located a male subject who was known to CPS. The male appeared to
be using drugs. The male also had a visible knife sheath on his left hip. CPIC checks
determined that the male outstanding warrants for his arrest and was in breach of his release
order to not be possession of any weapons. The male was arrested and transported to Court
Service Section.
CA23182530 – Resisting Arrest – On May 2, 2023, CREST Sheriff/Beat members were
conducting patrols in the 400 block of Sixth Ave. S.E., when they were flagged by a member of
the public regarding a male with a knife. CREST members engaged the male and he fled into
the parkade at RioCan (428 Sixth Avenue S.E). CREST members gave chase. The male
stopped running, but he refused to drop the knife or comply with CREST members’ direction.
The male was eventually taken to the ground and into custody. CPIC queries showed that the
male had outstanding warrants for his arrest. The male was transported to Arrest Processing.

Most common summons issued

Summons Reason # of Summons

Issued
Loitering and obstructing 314
Owner operate unregistered 102
motor vehicle/trailer
N/A 99
Trespass to Premises Act 68
Intoxicated in a public place 48
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No panhandling from any 38
occupant of a motor vehicle
Pedestrian fail to cross highway 18
in prescribed manner
Profane or obscene language on 15
LRT
Littering 14
Fail to produce financial 14
responsibility card on request of
a peace officer
No u-turn at intersection 14
controlled by traffic control
device
Summonses were issued to individuals who were trespassing at businesses after being
asked to leave for unwanted behaviour, and other bylaw offences such as graffiti and
loitering (open-air drug use). Much of the behaviour of the individuals dealt with by
officers included shouting profanity, harassment and throwing items. Officers observed
behaviour that was consistent with being intoxicated by a substance or related to a
mental health issue.
REPORTS OF NOTE (INTERNAL ONLY)
IN23003042 – Trespassing at East Village Tim Horton’s – On March 12, 2023, CPS attended
the Tim Horton’s (775 4 Street S.E.) where they located a female sitting on the floor in the
closed off section. When asked why she was seated on the ground, she became agitated and
was argumentative with CPS. CPS initially was going to advise her to stay in the open area of
the restaurant, but she was asked to leave and not return. The female was advised that she was
trespassed from the location.
IN23003648 – Offensive Graffiti – On March 24, 2023, CREST Sheriff/Beat members were
patrolling in the area of East Village when they encountered a male applying graffiti to a lamp
post. Beat members were familiar with the male from previous interactions. As CREST
members approached the male, he threw a Sharpie marker underneath a vehicle. The graffiti
included phrases like “Aryan Nation,” “White Power,” “Kill all N—” and “Stupid F— N— Go
Hang”. Security approached the CREST members and advised that the male was previously
banned from the property and was trespassing. The male was issued two summonses for the
graffiti and trespassing. The Hate Crimes Unit was advised of the incident for their awareness.

IN23003128 – Street Harassment – On March 14, 2023, CREST Sheriff/Beat members were
flagged down by two individuals at the intersection of 7 Avenue and 8 Street S.W. The
individuals advised that they were harassed by a male, who they had pointed out. CREST
members approached the male and was issued a street harassment ticket. The male was
transported to the Drop-In Centre.
IN23002662 – Mental Health Concern – On April 1, 2023, CREST Sheriff/Beat members were
patrolling in the area of Rocky Mountain Plaza (615 Macleod Trail S.E.) where they observed a
male subject screaming at the top of his lungs on the nearby CTrain station. Transit users were
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visibly scared and concerned for the male. The male started throwing garbage onto the street.
CREST members approached the male and had concerns for mental health issues. Summons
issued. CREST members offered mental health service, to which he declined. Police and Crisis
Team (PACT) notified of the incident.

Other Contributing Factors

Transports to Social Agencies
There were 58 transports by CREST Sheriff/Beat teams that were made to social agencies
including the Drop-In Centre and the Alpha House. Of note, day-to-day informal conversations
with offers of support or requests to DOAP/HELP were not tracked as it is part of daily duties.
However, there were 31 referrals were made to social agencies after CREST members
encountered people for open drug use.

When asked about observed impact of CREST, the Alpha House reports they have noticed
clients appear to be more spread out versus congregating in large groups. They say, “With the
help of CPS officers downtown, we have been able to identify and help more of our clients,
avoiding medical incidences before they happen, helping people out of dangerous or hazardous
situations.”

The most common types of calls received by the Alpha House/HELP Team are unwanted
guests, vulnerable persons support, people in alleyways, at Olympic Plaza and intoxicated and
on business property (intoxicated or not).

Original dispatch type resulting in the transfer

Event Subtype # of Calls
for Service
Suspicious Person 17
Unwanted Guest 12
Drunk 7
Disturbance 5
N/A 4
Medical- Collapse 3
Wanted 2
Assault – Common 2
Shoplifting 1
Check on Welfare 1
Suspicious Vehicle 1
Fraud – General 1

Business Contacts

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There were several businesses that expressed concerns of disorder and property damage. As
part of Operation CREST, District 1 CROs spoke with 25 business owners and provided target-
hardening recommendations to help prevent incidents of property damage from occurring.
The business community expressed concerns that the social diversion efforts are not
adequately addressing the issues facing downtown businesses or meeting community
expectations. An additional challenge exists whereby the CPS does not have the data regarding
the individuals that have been dealt with through 211 calls for service which inhibits the ability to
determine the effectiveness of call diversion efforts. An opportunity exists for the Service to
explore better data and information sharing with partner social serving agencies to support a
greater understanding of program effectiveness.
Examples of concerns brought forward by businesses:

• multiple fires continue to occur at night, and vulnerable individuals tend to sleep along
the abutment of the garage door

• an unknown individual set fire to a dumpster in the rear of the alley. The fire quickly
spread to the restaurant to the rolling window shutter and inside of the restaurant until
Calgary Fire attended to extinguish it. The restaurant has been closed due to damages
incurred, and renovations continue.

• a passerby observed a male and female attempt to pry open the side door of the
business by using an orange parking post. CPS attended and located an unsecured
door with the orange post nearby. Minor pry marks were observed on the door. No one
was located inside of the business.

• In discussion with the manager, it was learned that many shoplifters will flee through the
emergency exit. CRO advised to install time delay lock on all emergency locks. This will
be complete pending management and CFD approval.

• their biggest concern was trespassing and loitering around their business. CRO advised
to contact 211 to assist with any unwanted guests in the area

Protest Deployment
While not within the primary mission objectives, the reality of protest deployment in the
downtown core was ever present. District 1 leadership worked with the Major Events and
Emergency Management Section (MEEMS) and the Real Time Operation Center (RTOC) to
minimize their involvement in protest events, as it takes them away from their mission
objectives. In many instances, Mountain Bike Units (MBU) are deployed to protests to assist
with crowd control along with Community Resource Officers (CRO). MBU will also be deployed
to protests outside of the district to assist.
There were 42 events that District 1 teams were involved in, six of which included Sheriff/Beat
Teams’ deployments.

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Safe Public Spaces Action Plan
As mentioned above in the Deployment Model section, the Safe Public Spaces Action Plan
focused attention city-wide, beginning with Transit in the initial phase and may have contributed
to displacement into other public spaces and impacted reporting trends.
During March to May, the following stats were gathered from transit-specific enforcement city-
wide:

Operations & HIDTA

Two CPS operations were already underway during the pilot, tackling social disorder and drug
activity at both East Village and Rocky Mountain Plaza Tim Horton’s. Both operations crossed
into one of the CREST deployment zones.

• Operation Triple Triple ran from February to March 2023, focused on decreasing
disorder with increased police presence and enforcement.

• Operation Double Double focused on drug activity at both restaurant locations and is
ongoing, due to drug activity that has dispersed into public spaces with warmer
temperatures.
The CPS Undercover Street Team (DUST) conducted a (high-intensity drug trafficking area)
HIDTA operation on CTrain stations in March, due to the increased level of drug-related activity.
Although a citywide initiative, there were two downtown CTrain stations included in the HIDTA:
City Hall and Eighth Street. A total of eight individuals were arrested with 53 charges (26 CDSA
charges and 27 Criminal Code charges), and six weapons seized, including knives and a small
hatchet, from those two stations.
Downtown Response Team
To address the increase in crime and disorder downtown, the Downtown Response Team
(DRT) was initiated to provide a visible uniformed presence for enforcement, investigate crime
and collaborate with partners while respectful of the needs of all members of the community.
DRT is directed to a priority geographic area that has a higher concentration of crime and
disorder.
DRT is comprised of two teams: uniform and investigative. The uniform team engages and
collaborates with the city (Calgary Land Municipal Corporation; Downtown Ambassadors), social
agencies (Drop-In Centre; Alpha House) and businesses (Garda World; Tim Horton’s) to
address the complexities of the ongoing social issues. The investigative team provides

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investigative support for violent crimes while taking an innovative approach to reduce crime and
social disorder within the priority area.

CREST SHERIFF/BEAT SURVEY RESULTS

Survey of Participating Members of CPS and Sheriffs

A post-operation survey was disseminated to the Sheriff and CPS participants to gain further
insight from the frontline perspective. Some of the themes of the questions included benefits to
professional development, perception of public safety downtown, lessons learned and
improvements for any potential future partnerships. There was an 80% response rate from
CREST members. Fifty-eight per cent of respondents were from CPS Beat Teams, while 42%
were from Sheriffs who formed the operation CREST partnerships.

• All Sheriff survey participants would participate in another partnership compared to only
1% of CPS respondents.
• 54% of all respondents (29% of CPS participants and 90% of Sheriff participants) felt the
pilot had a positive impact on the public perception of safety. Members reported many
interactions with the public who thanked them for their presence.
• 90% of Sheriff participants felt they professionally benefitted from the partnership,
compared to 14% of CPS participants
• When asked if they would like to participate in another partnership, 100% of Sheriff
participants said yes, while only 14% of CPS participants said yes.

Logistical challenges, due to a short implementation time, led to decreased effectiveness of the
partnership and caused an increased workload for CPS officers. Officers identified challenges
with training consistency, equipment and logistics, a varying degree and lack of levels of
authorities for enforcement, dispatch, standardized deployment tactics and operational
language and inability to directly access CPS databases and complete reports, resulting in
additional workload for CPS officers.

Calgary Downtown Association Survey

The survey was conducted by the Calgary Downtown Association from Wednesday, June 28, to
Thursday, July 6, 2023. Seventy-six respondents, identifying as employees from more than 60
downtown businesses and groups.

The survey measured impact on the perception of safety and includes the following findings:
• 44% attend downtown to work, 23% to socialize, 16% to shop, 12% to live, 4% to learn
• 67% of respondents were aware of the joint Sheriff/CPS deployment.
• 56% were made aware of the pilot by traditional news outlets, 18% by word of mouth,
9% by Twitter, 5% by Facebook, 4% by elevator news feed, and 9% other
• When asked what their expectations were of the deployment, they responded:
o 29% greater visibility of officers on street
o 26% increased perception of safety
o 25% fewer incidents of social disorder

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 o 20% other entries
• When asked if their expectations were met, 39% responded no, 28% said yes, and 33%
other.
• 56% report their perception of safety did NOT change during the pilot, 37% reported
their perception did change, and 7% other
• 49% observed an increased uniformed presence in downtown from March to May, 48%
said they did not notice and increase.
• 85% would support additional Sheriff deployment in the core, 12% responded as other
and 1% as no
• When asked who should be responsible for funding the program, 42% of respondents
feel it should be funded by the city, compared to 39% who say it should be funded by the
province and 17% feel it should be funded federally, with a remaining 3% as other.
• When asked who they reported incidents to when they occur:
o 33% to police
o 25% to building security
o 16% to Alpha House/DOAP/HELP
o 8% to 211
o 7% to Bylaw
o 5% don’t report incidents that they see
o 6% other
• Respondents say the greatest issues in the downtown core are:
o 27% open drug consumption
o 25% perceptions of safety
o 23% social disorder
o 13% cleanliness
o 6% affordability
o 3% too few activations/things to do
o 3% other

When asked why their perceptions did/not change, the respondents provided verbatim
comments that reflected frustration with ongoing open-air drug use, generalized social disorder,
and safety on transit. Several indicated they believed the short-term pilot was not long enough
to make much of an impact and they would like to see more resources in place for a longer
deployment. There was also recognition that the social disorder issues being faced by
downtown businesses is the result of a much bigger problem than enforcement alone can
address.

Comparison to Edmonton
While often compared to Edmonton’s Sheriff deployment, Calgary’s deployment differed in
model and objectives.
• CPS had a pre-existing Downtown Beat Team that operates seven days a week.
• Calgary’s Sheriff deployment included peace officers serving in highway patrol and the
courthouse. These officers came with varying levels of authorities and training.
• Edmonton deployed 12 sheriffs alongside the Healthy Streets Operations Centre
(HSOC), to expand their beat patrol coverage from five days-a-week to seven days-a-
week.
• Of the 12 Sheriffs deployed in Edmonton, 11 were from Highway Patrol and one was
from the Legislature/Government Centre.
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 • Due to a longer lead-up and integration ahead of rollout, Edmonton sheriffs were
authorized and trained to access the EPS records management system, were sworn in
with bylaw authorities and were able to deploy independently with a focus on transit
lines.
• The Calgary sheriff deployment did not allow for granting authority to issue tickets or
training on CPS records management system. This prohibited their ability to deploy
independently and resulted in additional tasking for the CPS partnered officer.

CONCLUSION

Pilots of short duration, such as this program, are often difficult to evaluate due to many
variables. We are confident stating that we achieved an increased level of public
awareness of this program via traditional media, social media and partner
communications. Public respondents noted an increase in uniform presence in the
downtown core, but, unfortunately, most reported little change in their overall perception
of safety. This may be attributable to the size of the pilot (12 officers working 24/7 meant
six or less officers working on any given shift.) The public did support future Sheriff
deployment back in the core and in fact, many CREST officers were frequently
approached by citizens and business owners for help with individuals exhibiting
concerning behaviour in public spaces.

In addition, the statistical analysis indicates the pilot deployment displaced crime and
social disorder within hotspot locations, but had limited statistical impact in the broader
deployment zones. The top issues identified by both statistical analysis and feedback
from the public pertain to non-criminal matters such as suspicious persons, unwanted
guests and checks on welfare. This continues to be an issue that needs further
involvement by social-sector partners to address, outside of a police response.

Lessons learned
While the partnerships are valued, there are several learnings around logistics that could be
incorporated into future joint partnerships to facilitate more effective and efficient
deployment:
• Pursue joint training opportunities to ensure consistency in training in areas such as
use of force, subject control techniques and protest deployment.
• Ensure all officers can access and utilize the same police databases and are trained
to do so ahead of deployment.
• Ensure all officers are operating on a common language or shared dispatch codes
for deployment.
• Enforcement authorities should be granted prior to deployment and training should
be implemented on how to apply to local bylaws.
• Consideration to Body Worn Camera deployment and policy training.

Recommendations to address crime and social disorder downtown

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Crime and social disorder continue to be a priority for Calgarians and the CPS. Should
future GOA funding of officers become available, we would welcome the opportunity to
collaborate on ideas to deploy additional officers, making the most of learnings gleaned
from this pilot opportunity.

A qualitative impact study on the effectiveness of call diversion initiatives in relation to social
disorder, community perception of safety and alignment of expectations of social diversion
efforts is required to further assess impacts of future resource deployments and objectives.

Based on officer interactions, it is clear the individuals exhibiting concerning behaviour,

such as yelling and acting aggressively particularly in and around businesses, are creating
a sense of diminished safety in public spaces downtown. While current enforcement tactics
address immediate public-safety issues, and call diversion efforts are making headway in
ensuring the right people are provided the right resources at the right time, further study
must be done to identify opportunities for addressing the issues at an individual case-
management level. Resolution of the behaviour through addressing root causes, while
providing supportive accountability are likely key to resolving the fundamental issues of
social disorder impacting public perception, and actual, safety.

Community Policing Analytical Unit &

Analytical Data By
Corporate Data and Analytics Unit

Report Created By Public Affairs/Media Relations Unit

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