Police adapt to evolving crime

An influential think- tank is suggesting the adage about never being able to find a policeman when you need one certainly doesn’t apply in our city.

In fact, the Fraser Institute gives Calgary officers a less than satisfactory grade when it comes to efficiency. The institute’s reasoning is built upon the drop in crime seen in Canadian cities over the past decade, and a jump in the number of officers on Calgary’s payroll.

The crime rate in our city now stands at a comparatively low 4.3 incidents per 1,000 residents, a marked drop from 2001, when there were seven such incidents among every 1,000 citizens. Meanwhile, the number of officers, along with the force’s overall budget, has increased. There are now about 160 officers for every 100,000 residents, compared to around 140 in 2001.

But such statistics are deceiving. Society has changed dramatically since 2001, and the type of crimes facing the police service — along with the proactive policing now expected by citizens — has changed in unison. Such offences as bank and convenience store robberies that were a plague a dozen years ago have all but vanished because of better security and less ready cash on hand for desperate criminals.

Instead, police now face a battery of new and much more insidious and complicated crimes and criminals. The Internet is a magnet for all types of bad people — from those intent on identity theft, to others running elaborate confidence scams, to others who spread the sickness of child pornography across cyberspace.

Combating this isn’t easy and demands resources that the police had no need of a dozen or so years ago.

In Calgary, we need look no further than the successful, but timeconsuming battle the police fought against violent gangs. Again, fighting this type of crime involves more work than apprehending some sad individual intent on stealing enough cash to get a quick drug fix.

But of even more importance is the focus current police Chief Rick Hanson has brought to prevent youngsters from ever winding up in trouble. Programs such as the Multi- Agency School Support Team, focusing on vulnerable kids between five and 12 years old, the Youth at Risk Development Program targeting those aged 10 to 17 who risk involvement in gang activity, and the Start Smart Stay Smart program to build positive relationships between officers and kids are excellent examples of proactive policing.

In the final analysis, it is Calgarians’ satisfaction with our police that is the most important number. At over 90 per cent, it would suggest the service’s efficiency is anything but unsatisfactory.