City Cutting the CPS budget again.

[underGRADFlame]

Story from the Sun

Frankly I'm sick of this, Calgary is already running a large deficit in officers and now they want to cut the 5 classes for recruits next year and 1 from this year already is already scrapped.

Write you alderman and let them know how you feel about this! Link

[Cowboy89]

They can absolutely gut parts of the traffic division all they want as far as I'm concerned.

[mykalberta]

Its early stages, its always like this with any public sector issue, Police, Transit, Fire, EMS, Nurses, Doctors, etc etc etc - its the whole "wont someone please think of the children" scare tactic that these groups use.

When I hear of the actual cuts then I might actually care - the Police Chief in Calgary at least from what I have read seems like a real Prima Donna and isnt exactly someone who doesnt like the spotlight - especially when he stuck his nose in where it didnt belong when he openly criticized Nenshi durring the election campaign for even thinking of looking at the great and magical police budget as a place to get some efficiency savings.

Just a question, is there a website that lists the number of police employees (officers, detectives, patrolman, admin staff etc etc etc) for Canadian cities.

I always here Calgary is running personal deficits in these types of things but I never here any concrete numbers, like Calgary has 1/500 where as Toronto has 1/200 etc? Maybe Calgary runs their department differently with more back of the line analysts who more efficiently direct police to the hotspots around Calgary. One can have a deficit in officers if they are running surpluses in other areas if they are all working toward the same goal.

[underGRADFlame]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Just a question, is there a website that lists the number of police employees (officers, detectives, patrolman, admin staff etc etc etc) for Canadian cities.

I always here Calgary is running personal deficits in these types of things but I never here any concrete numbers, like Calgary has 1/500 where as Toronto has 1/200 etc? Maybe Calgary runs their department differently with more back of the line analysts who more efficiently direct police to the hotspots around Calgary. One can have a deficit in officers if they are running surpluses in other areas if they are all working toward the same goal.

http://publications.gc.ca/collection...010000-eng.pdf

Page 16...

[Jimmy Stang]

I don't see anything wrong with looking for places where money can be saved (which is all that is happening thus far). I'm sure that the police, like anything else in this city, can be run more efficiently.

That doesn't have to mean that officers will be taken off of the street, and probably won't. This has to pass through the police commission as well. It would be politically unpopular to reduce levels of service, so I fully expect that we'll see administrative efficiencies make up the bulk of the savings.

I'd say "typical Sun alarmist garbage", but the article wasn't really that alarming to me. Simply looking for areas to become more efficient in, which is what we need city council to do.

[Husky]

I find CPS quite useless. Colour me jaded but the ones I do see are always at Starbucks, TIm Hortons, etc or walking in a pack of 4....(zero coverage).

[wooohooo]

Originally Posted by Husky

I find CPS quite useless. Colour me jaded but the ones I do see are always at Starbucks, TIm Hortons, etc or walking in a pack of 4....(zero coverage).

You won't find them useless when you need them. Are they not allowed to take breaks to eat? I know sometimes they do ridiculous hours and deal with some stressful situations. The only problem I would have is if there's a call and they finish their coffee and paper first before responding but that's totally not what I have seen.

You want Calgary to become like Edmonton?

[shermanator]

In the October election it was mentioned that Calgary has the second highest cost per officer. Perhaps that is what should be trimmed?

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Husky

I find CPS quite useless. Colour me jaded but the ones I do see are always at Starbucks, TIm Hortons, etc or walking in a pack of 4....(zero coverage).

Weird, I never realized Calgary had become Mogadishu.

[Yasa]

Originally Posted by Husky

I find CPS quite useless. Colour me jaded but the ones I do see are always at Starbucks, TIm Hortons, etc or walking in a pack of 4....(zero coverage).

Hahah I got asked why I was waiting in line at a McDonalds for lunch instead of "responding to an emergency." As if I'm not allowed to eat and people are continuously hurting themselves. Although, I did get a call just as I ordered a bic mac. Asses.

[malcolmk14]

Originally Posted by Yasa

Hahah I got asked why I was waiting in line at a McDonalds for lunch instead of "responding to an emergency." As if I'm not allowed to eat and people are continuously hurting themselves. Although, I did get a call just as I ordered a bic mac. Asses.

The real problem is why the people in front of you made you wait in line? I know I always offer for anyone in uniform to go ahead of me.

[Yasa]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

The real problem is why the people in front of you made you wait in line? I know I always offer for anyone in uniform to go ahead of me.

Some people just really want their nuggets I guess. I did get a discount the next time I was there though which was awesome. Pretty nice of you to let people go in front though, I've never expected or experienced it before.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by underGRADFlame

http://publications.gc.ca/collection...010000-eng.pdf

Page 16...

So Calgary is running on average and has more than the Nations Capital.

Is there any site that also lists the budget $ / employee not just officer?

Also it mentions Vancouver includes cops at airport/port etc so their number would be lower /100,000

Maybe living in Crescent Heights and working downtown has made me blind to the seedy underbelly of Pasadena/Calgary but other than some youth thugs who likely didnt have proper parental discipline and the occasional annoying homeless guy I dont see Calgary as an overly dangerous city so much so that I should be outraged by the lack of officers.

[WilsonFourTwo]

I'm guessing that (for starters) existing officers will be moved from traffic to other areas, as photo enforcement becomes more prevalent. There are all kinds of labor (OT specifically), fuel and maintenance savings associated with that.

Overall, we're talking about trying to save ~3% of a budget of $295,000,000. Add me to the group that thinks this is likely a tempest in a teapot.

[You Need a Thneed]

CPS is the single biggest expense that the city has. The city better be looking for ways to make it run more efficiently. If the city is looking to spend less, then the biggest single dept better be getting some budget cuts.

Isn't crime right now at nearly all time lows?

[underGRADFlame]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

CPS is the single biggest expense that the city has. The city better be looking for ways to make it run more efficiently. If the city is looking to spend less, then the biggest single dept better be getting some budget cuts.

Isn't crime right now at nearly all time lows?

Yes and the way to continue that trend is to cut the budget and cut recruits!

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by underGRADFlame

Yes and the way to continue that trend is to cut the budget and cut recruits!

I don't see why it would mean adding to the budget, or even make the CPS immune to budget cuts, when the city is looking to cut the budget overall.

[underGRADFlame]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

I don't see why it would mean adding to the budget, or even make the CPS immune to budget cuts, when the city is looking to cut the budget overall.

How do you justify cutting the budget to essential services? The city continues to grow, man power is needed to cover that. Everyone bitches about how much money it costs them in taxes, and then when they need the police/fire/ems and they're not there in the blink of a eye, then the world crashes down. The police are in desperate need of new equipment too, the radio and computer systems are antiquated and require countless extra man hours to compensate for.

Less police officers covering a larger area means excessive OT, fuel and maintenance. While adding extra bodies actual reduces extra costs.

[Scorponok]

I'd say decrease the level of traffic officers. Use the money to buy tighter shirts for the female police officers.

And add moar K-9. Nothing scares a criminal more than a police officer yelling "SICK BALLS!"

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by underGRADFlame

How do you justify cutting the budget to essential services? The city continues to grow, man power is needed to cover that. Everyone bitches about how much money it costs them in taxes, and then when they need the police/fire/ems and they're not there in the blink of a eye, then the world crashes down. The police are in desperate need of new equipment too, the radio and computer systems are antiquated and require countless extra man hours to compensate for.

Less police officers covering a larger area means excessive OT, fuel and maintenance. While adding extra bodies actual reduces extra costs.

I'd easily justify budget cuts for essential services in areas where efficiency could be increased. I'd likely support reducing the workforce by some small amount, but I'm no where near an expert enough to know what that number should/would be.

Again, the city is in a situation where property taxes must increase by roughly 8% per year for the next three years just to maintain the level of service that we currently have.

I'd probably vote for the CPS to increase the photo radar use to help pay for more officers. I have nothing against voluntary taxes.