Residents not in favour of adding $14.3M to police budget, poll finds
More Calgarians are opposed than are in favour of increasing city spending on police if it means a tax hike, a poll conducted for Postmedia suggests.
The poll done by Mainstreet Research shows 43 per cent of 1,000 respondents surveyed Sept. 28 are opposed to adding $14.3 million to the force’s budget to hire 55 more officers and civilians while other departments are being asked to find savings.
Among the respondents, 39 per cent supported the move recommended last month by the Calgary police commission, while 18 per cent were undecided.
The results show how strong the anti-tax sentiment is among Calgarians weary of hikes in property levies, said Mainstreet Executive vice-president David Valentin.
“You could frame any kind of property tax increase and it won’t fly,” said Valentin.
“The overwhelming issue is property tax and we’re seeing it enter into every issue — it’s extraordinary.”
Valentin noted women were more likely to support the spending hike than men, by 48 per cent to 30 per cent. That would dovetail with the North American cultural outlook that, “rightly or wrongly, the people most in danger are young females,” he said.
Younger adults were more likely to support higher police spending than older ones, which seems a paradox, said Valentin.
“Those who are the most lawand-order are saying ‘no,’ and the ones who say ‘yes’ are more (Mayor Naheed) Nenshi’s supporters,” said Valentin.
The current police budget, $388 million, is the largest single department expenditure for a city government that’s facing a $170 million fiscal shortfall.
It funds a force of 2,818, of whom 2,078 are sworn members.
The poll results should be taken with a grain of salt, said Ward 1 Coun. Ward Sutherland, who sits on the Calgary police commission.
“What should have been asked is: ‘Do you want police to show up in 15 minutes or eight minutes?’ ” said Sutherland. “One of the reasons we want the 55 officers is that 911 calls are up so significantly, they don’t have the people to answer them.”
He said once the challenges facing the force are explained, opposition to more police funding fades, he said.
Since 2015, the CPS has added 50 positions and has returned $10.3 million to city coffers through efficiencies and cost reductions.
But the force and commission say police capabilities are being stretched by factors such as the fentanyl crisis, increases in domestic violence, break and enters, and vehicle crime.
“It’s our job to put up the red flag when it’s time and we now see an impediment to the safety of Calgarians,” said Sutherland, adding the extra revenue would fund body cameras.
Albertans are traditionally more pro-law enforcement than those in many jurisdictions but that attitude might be colliding with more recent economic realities, said Doug King, a justice studies professor at Mount Royal University.
“A three per cent increase in police funding doesn’t seem like much, but we’re a lot more economically sensitive now,” said King.
“Calgarians are beginning to question whether they’re getting value for their tax money.”
On Tuesday, Nenshi reiterated his backing for granting the police funding request.
The survey of 1,000 people on automated land line and cellphone has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20.