Calgary police face huge budget shortfall, warn of ‘impacts across the organization’

Calgary constabulary corroborate the work is facing a $28-million shortfall successful its operating fund this twelvemonth “and beyond.”

While CPS Chief Mark Neufeld wasn’t disposable for an interview, CPS provided a connection to Global News connected Thursday afternoon.

The connection didn’t supply an explanation, but during a property league successful January Chief Mark Neufeld expressed interest implicit however the provincial government’s determination to restrict the usage of photograph radar would impact constabulary revenue.

“From the fund side, the gross portion is portion of our budget, truthful it has an interaction – conscionable the mode that the fund is constructed,” said Neufeld.

Over the past 5 years, the provincial authorities has introduced large changes successful the usage of photograph radar.

In 2019 it introduced limits connected usage successful areas similar velocity modulation zones wherever the velocity bounds changes connected highways.

In 2022, restrictions were enactment successful spot connected its usage successful galore residential areas with velocity limits beneath 50 km/h, and photograph radar vehicles were required to person precocious visibility decals connected them.

In December of 2024, Alberta’s Minister of Transportation Devin Dreeshen tightened up the rules adjacent further, saying the provincial authorities wanted to “ensure that photograph radar is simply a instrumentality for protecting people, not a currency cow.”

Those caller rules reduced the fig of sites wherever photograph radar could beryllium utilized by astir 70 per cent — from 2,200 sites to conscionable 650 — limiting usage to conscionable school, playground and operation zones.

At the time, Calgary’s constabulary main responded by saying “it was rather insulting to constabulary services to person their integrity questioned — to marque it dependable similar they are retired there, putting these things wherever to marque wealth and past utilizing the wealth for the Christmas party.”

As for however CPS volition woody with the shortfall successful funding, the connection from CPS reads: “We are examining strategies to support halfway services to code nationalist information but admit determination volition beryllium impacts crossed the organization.  We volition proceed to measure and show to find the afloat scope of however this volition interaction our work to Calgarians.”

More to come…