Crime prevention funding should pay off, Carra says

City councillors got a glimpse Wednesday at how a $3-million boost for crime prevention programs, approved by council in November, could be dished out.

The community and protective services committee heard the funds will be available for city projects to reduce crime, reduce harm, make communities safer, or enhance the social well-being of citizens, such as programs that address the opioid crisis.

“The role of prevention is really important. We know that every dollar we put in upfront saves us a lot of money on the back end,” Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said at Wednesday’s meeting.

A city report about the $3-million, one-time fund for prevention states, “it has been consistently documented that the return on investment of $1 in prevention yields $7 to $13 in diverted costs.”

“If we’re good and the science holds and the data holds and we do our work, what we’ve just done with $3 million today is we’ve costavoided $20 million of enforcement in the future, and we’ve made lives better for Calgarians,” Carra said. “I’m very proud that council made the decision to make that investment.”

Council decided to dedicate $3 million from the city’s rainy-day fund during November budget deliberations to youth and lowincome programs and crime prevention. At the same time, council increased the police budget by $14.3 million, after Chief Roger Chaffin painted a bleak picture of exhausted staff and increasing caseloads.

“It’s an important message to give, as we increase the police budget, to also recognize our responsibility for prevention. It is more cost-effective and it helps our citizens more,” Ward 7 Coun. Druh Farrell said.