Calgary Police seek $324 million in additional funding over four years

Calgary Police are seeking more than $324 million in additional funding over the coming four-year budget cycle, citing rapid population growth, changing calls for service and increasing personnel and equipment costs. Chief Katie McLellan presented the case publicly on October 29 and 30, saying the service wants to hire 309 sworn officers and additional civilian employees. The request would increase the service's annual operating budget from approximately $684.5 million in 2026 to about $816.7 million by 2030. Those figures describe a multiyear funding plan, not a one-year budget increase.

Police say Calgary currently has about 144 officers per 100,000 residents and would aim to reach approximately 153 under the proposed plan. The chief also cited modified-duty assignments, absences and the rising price of patrol vehicles as constraints on the number of officers available for frontline work. The service argues that without more resources, response times and investigative capacity could deteriorate. But total authorized positions are not the same as the officers available on a particular shift, and the proposed increase should be evaluated against actual deployment and service measures.

The request will compete with major municipal spending demands involving water infrastructure, roads, transit, recreation facilities and other services. The central accountability question is what Calgarians would receive for the additional investment. Projected call volumes, response-time targets, staffing vacancies, overtime and the division of work between sworn officers and civilians are essential to evaluating the proposal. November's budget debate will determine how far council is prepared to go in funding those priorities.

Sources: calgary.citynews.ca