SUPPORT FOR CPS RISING

It’s encouraging to see support for the Calgary Police Service is on the rise, but it’s evident the department has more work to do to gain the confidence of the public it serves. A poll conducted by Mainstreet Research for Postmedia on March 10 puts support for the service at 45 per cent. That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of the police force, but it’s up six percentage points from half a year ago.

As a comparison, Mainstreet says surveys it has conducted in other cities have revealed greater levels of support for communities’ law enforcement officers — 69 per cent in Toronto and 55 per cent in Saskatoon, for example.

Mainstreet president Quito Maggi notes Calgary police have been at the centre of a series of scandals over the past couple of years.

“They’ve had some bad luck in terms of some high-profile issues that have occurred,” said Maggi. “When these things take hold in the public eye, it takes time to reverse course.”

It’s debatable whether the police force’s problems can be written off as simply bad luck. Calgarians learned last year of a 2013 report that identified a culture of bullying, intimidation and sexual misconduct. There was also a spate of police officers charged with crimes and a rise in the number of shootings by the department’s officers, five of them resulting in death.

Few people will forget the public Jan. 31 resignation of Const. Jen Ward, who told the Calgary police commission she had been a frequent victim of bullying, sexual harassment and intimidation during her 14 years on the job.

While it’s reassuring approval of the police force is growing, it’s worth noting that the number of Calgarians who say they strongly disapprove of the department has leaped from 11 per cent in September of last year to 21 per cent. The overall disapproval rating has slipped to 46 per cent from 48 per cent, which is a good sign.

Police Chief Roger Chaffin and the police commission are telegraphing the right messages to Calgarians. There’s a plan to address the shortcomings, as well as a refreshing acknowledgment that workplace conditions could be better.

It’s also important to remember that the opioid crisis has made policing more complicated. Drugs such as fentanyl are not only fuelling thefts and other crimes, but taxing officers as they deal with people suffering from addictions.

It will be in everyone’s best interest — the public, police officers, the commission and those who hold positions of leadership in the department — if support for the force continues to climb.

A police department that enjoys strong public support benefits everybody.