Calgary police hear from community members, city councillors

The Calgary Police Service heard from community leaders and city councillors Wednesday evening during an invite-only, closed-door meeting at the Marlborough Community Association in the city's northeast. 

Public safety and violent crime formed the basis of these discussions, coming after a series of shootings in recent weeks.

Coun. Raj Dhaliwal was one of the city councillors who attended the meeting. The Ward 5 representative told CBC Radio host Loren McGinnis on the Calgary Eyeopener that a number of important discussions took place.

The intent behind the decision to keep the meeting private was to stay focused and allow for an "unfiltered" question-and-answer period, Dhaliwal said Thursday.

A shooting on Nov. 13 that left one man dead and two teenage brothers facing charges — which have now been stayed — was also a focal point of the conversation.

Community members brought lingering questions around how police could arrest the two teens only for the charges to be dropped once a video on social media showed they were not involved. 

"At the end of the day, people were looking for some answers. People were looking for some information. Sometimes the information is so fogged up it's hard to dissect," said Dhaliwal. 

Dhaliwal said he believes the meeting was successful, both for the community and police.

"What I'm hoping for is the CPS to take that input from the community leaders and not just have this town hall as one-off. It needs to continue. These discussions need to continue."

Community leaders bring concerns forward

Jean-Claude Munyezamu — executive director and founder of a non-profit youth soccer organization known as Umoja Community Mosaic — expressed several concerns, but racial profiling and its effects on relationships with police was at the forefront.

Munyezamu said the stayed charges against the aforementioned teenage boys has affected those within the community.

"This shooting happened, they grabbed two kids, [then] after two weeks, 'Oops, we made a mistake,'" he said. 

"This was one high-profile [example], and it breaks trust between police and the community … makes it very hard for the community to trust police."

Munyezamu said he's hearing about a lack of trust toward police from within his community. He's concerned about how this impacts the way people reach out to law enforcement for help.

"When you call the police and they don't come, that's a problem," said Munyezamu.

Munyezamu said he brought forward various concerns he's heard from within the community because talking about what is and isn't working is necessary. He hopes to keep discussions open between police, the city and the community.

"I've been in many meetings. What we want to see is what's going to happen, what's next," said Munyezamu.

"It's always an issue when we come out of a meeting … there are a few things I call kind of pushing a snooze button … I hope this is not another snooze button."

Gun violence, public safety concerns

CPS Supt. Cliff O'Brien said any opportunity to meet with community members and discuss concerns is a good thing. He says police were given "great" feedback from the meeting.

"We know that gun violence, gun crime, is not just a police issue. It's a community issue and impacts all of us," he said.

O'Brien said police heard that community members feel as though recent gun violence is affecting the reputation of surrounding neighbourhoods.

"Even though some of these shootings may be targeted attacks, we know that bullets can go anywhere, and we've seen that. Unfortunately, not far from here, we had an innocent person shot at the end of October," said O'Brien.

"That's not lost on us."

The police superintendent said "brazen attacks" such as gun and knife violence in public spaces are harmful to everyone.

As of Nov. 28, there have been 93 shootings in Calgary this year — a 26 per cent decrease from the same period last year, which saw 120 shootings — according to data from CPS shared with CBC News in an email. 

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot hosted Wednesday's meeting in Marlborough with police, councillors and select community members.

"There's concern that this area, in particular, seems to have quite the concentration of gun violence," said Chabot.

The councillor called Calgary's recent gun violence complex, adding that police are working to address changes in gang-related crime.

"There was no denying that there was a significant increase in the northeast, but as [police] said, a lot of this criminal activity is dynamic in nature. It's very complex. It's changed. It's evolved over time."

Reporting criminal activity was an issue that was raised by community members at the meeting, and Chabot said the way crimes are reported needs work, according to the community.

"I don't think that even the police officers would deny that the system could use some improvement," he said.

The city councillor said he's happy the police were able to engage with the community on Wednesday, and he's hopeful there will be more opportunities for police and community conversations in the future.