Calgary Police Service

Last updated
Calgary Police Service
Calgary Police Service.svg
MottoOnward (Same as City of Calgary)
Agency overview
Formed1885
Employees3,006 (2022)
Annual budgetapproximately 500 million dollars
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionCity of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Size820.62 sq km
Population1 306 784
Governing body Calgary Police Commission
Constituting instrument
  • Police Act
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters5111 47th Street NE
Calgary
Sworn members2134 (2022)
Non-sworn members874 (2022)
Elected officer responsible
  • The Honorable Mickey Amery, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General
Agency executives
  • Mark Neufeld, Chief Constable
  • Paul Cook, Deputy Chief
  • Chad Tawfik, Deputy Chief
  • Katie McLellan, Deputy Chief
  • Raj Gill, Deputy Chief
  • Kim Armstrong, Chief People Officer
Facilities
Stations8 (excluding headquarters)
Notables
Programme
  • Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety
Website
www.calgary.ca/cps.html

Calgary Police Service (CPS) is the municipal police service of the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Alberta and third largest municipal force in Canada behind the Toronto Police Service and the Montreal Police Service.

Contents

History

The Calgary Police Service was founded on February 7, 1885, [1] and initially consisted of two constables led by Chief Jack Ingram. [2]

On October 8, 1993, Constable Rick Sonnenberg was preparing a spike strip to stop a stolen vehicle when he was struck by the fleeing motorist and killed. [3] In the wake of his death and fundraising from the Sonnenberg family, the force acquired a helicopter and formed the Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety (HAWCS) unit in 1995. In 2003, a second helicopter was purchased, expanding the unit. [4]

In 1995, the Calgary Police Commission appointed Christine Silverberg as chief of police, making her the first woman to lead a large police force in Canada. [note 1] [5] Silverberg served as chief until 2000, when she retired from the police service.

Shortly after Christmas in 2013, two Calgary police officers and their supervisor detained Godfred Addai after his car became stuck in a snowbank. The officers then released Addai, who was wearing light clothing, in an under-construction community three kilometres from his home, providing him with no aid or clothing despite freezing temperatures and advising police dispatchers to ignore Addai's 9-1-1 calls as he was "just a drunken fool". [6] After Addai called 9-1-1 twice, Constable Trevor Lindsay attended the scene and tased Addai before being captured by a HAWCS helicopter video camera repeatedly punching a handcuffed Addai in the head and back. [6] Addai was charged with assaulting a peace officer, but was acquitted at trial. [6] Cst. Lindsay was later convicted of aggravated assault for an unrelated 2015 incident when he threw a handcuffed detainee to the ground in a police station parking lot, fracturing his skull. [7] Cst. Lindsay resigned from the Calgary Police Service in 2020. [8]

In the early 2010s, in response to regional applicant shortages, the Calgary Police Service briefly accepted applications from international police officers who were not already landed immigrants, permanent residents, or citizens of Canada. [9] The force had ended the program by 2017. [10]

In May 2019, CPS has considered relaunching its auxiliary cadet program, which was launched in 2013 and disbanded in April 2019 due to union concerns on staffing and safety. [11] [12]

On New Year's Eve, 2020, Sgt. Andrew Harnett, who had been employed by the Calgary Police Service for 12 years, stopped a car after noticing the vehicle's licence plate didn't match its registration. [13] As Harnett and two other officers who had responded to the traffic stop prepared to arrest the vehicle's passenger on an outstanding warrant, the driver fled the scene with Harnett holding onto the driver's side door. [14] Harnett was dragged 427 metres before falling off of the vehicle and being struck by oncoming traffic. [13]

Line of duty deaths

Since its formation in 1885, twelve Calgary Police officers have been killed in the line of duty. [15]

Organization

Rank structure

Members of the Calgary Police Service, including Police Chief Mark Neufeld, pose for a photo at the Canada Day festivities in Calgary, Alberta Members of the Calgary Police Service, including Police Chief Mark Neufeld, pose for a photo at the Canada Day festivities in Calgary, Alberta.jpg
Members of the Calgary Police Service, including Police Chief Mark Neufeld, pose for a photo at the Canada Day festivities in Calgary, Alberta
RankChief ConstableDeputy ChiefSuperintendentInspectorRegimental Sergeant MajorStaff SergeantSergeant / DetectiveSenior Constable level 2Senior Constable level 1Constable (classes 1 to 5, sworn officer)Auxiliary (un-sworn-officer)
Insignia
c Calgary Police - Chief.png
c
Calgary Police - Deputy Chief.png
Calgary Police - Superintendent.png
Calgary Police - Inspector.png
Calgary Police - Regimental Sergeant Major.png
Calgary Police - Staff Sergeant.png
Calgary Police - Sergeant.png
Calgary Police - Senior Constable Level 2.png
Calgary Police - Senior Constable Level 1.png
No insigniaNo insignia
Slip-onSlip-onSlip-onSlip-onArm patchArm patchArm patchArm patchArm patch

Divisions

Members of the mounted unit of the Calgary Police Service on duty at Olympic Plaza Calgary police on horseback.JPG
Members of the mounted unit of the Calgary Police Service on duty at Olympic Plaza

The CPS is divided into the following sections:

Equipment

CPS officers on foot patrol Calgary Police (2011).jpg
CPS officers on foot patrol

Vehicles

2020 Ford Police Interceptor Utility Calgary Police New FPIU.jpg
2020 Ford Police Interceptor Utility
CPS Ford police interceptor utility Calgary Police Vehicle 2.jpg
CPS Ford police interceptor utility
CPS Ford police interceptor sedan Calgary police vehicle 1.jpg
CPS Ford police interceptor sedan

Most vehicles used by the Calgary Police Service are imported from the United States and use the black and white colour scheme common of police vehicles in the United States, due to the increased recognition of this color scheme as used by police.

Vehicles currently in use include:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ontario Provincial Police</span> Provincial law enforcement agency for Ontario, Canada

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. The OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways; protects provincial government buildings and officials, with the exception of the legislative precinct; patrols unincorporated areas in northern Ontario; provides training, operational support, and funding to some Indigenous police forces; and investigates complex or multijurisdictional crimes across the province. The OPP also has a number of local mandates through contracts with municipal governments and First Nations, where it acts as the local police force and provides front-line services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Newfoundland Constabulary</span> Canadian police service

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) is the provincial police service for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halton Regional Police Service</span> Policing service for the Regional Municipality of Halton in Ontario, Canada

The Halton Regional Police Service provides policing service for the Regional Municipality of Halton, which is located west of Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. Halton Region encompasses the City of Burlington and the Towns of Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills. As of July, 2020, the Halton Regional Police Service has over 1,000 members, including 718 sworn police officers and approximately 302 civilian and volunteer members. The service is responsible for policing a population of approximately 610,000 people in an area covering 692 square kilometers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Police Service</span> Police agency of Toronto, Canada

The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police service created in North America and is one of the oldest police services in the English-speaking world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transit Enforcement Unit</span> Special constabulary in Ontario, Canada

The Transit Enforcement Unit is a special constabulary maintained by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. First established in 1997, the Unit consists of special constables and provincial offences officers, referred to internally as transit fare inspectors. The unit's special constables have the full powers of a police power on or in relation to TTC property, and, as of 2023, the unit employs 101 special constables out of an authorized complement of 145.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York Regional Police</span> Police agency of York Region, Ontario, Canada

The York Regional Police (YRP) is the police service of the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. YRP was formed in 1971 from the police forces maintained by the nine municipalities which amalgamated into York Region at the time. The force had a strength of over 1,500 sworn members and 618 unsworn members as of 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottawa Police Service</span> Police agency of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

The Ottawa Police Service is the municipal police service of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OPS serves an area of 2,790 square kilometres and 1,017,449 people, alongside several other police forces which have specialized jurisdiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durham Regional Police Service</span> Police agency of Durham Region, Ontario, Canada

The Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) is the police service operated by and serving the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The DRPS has a strength of over 900 sworn officers and over 300 unsworn members, and serves the following local municipalities, with a combined population of 706,200:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vancouver Police Department</span> Municipal police of the Canadian city of Vancouver

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) is the police force in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Area and is the second largest police force in the province after RCMP "E" Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmonton Police Service</span> Municipal police force in Alberta, Canada

The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is the municipal police force for the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The current chief of the EPS is Dale McFee. McFee is the second highest paid police chief in Canada with an annual salary of $357,000 (2023), following Vancouver's police chief Adam Palmer, who in 2022 was paid $493,932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnipeg Police Service</span> Canadian police force

The Winnipeg Police Service is the police force of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlottetown Police Service</span>

Charlottetown Police Service (CPS) is the police service for the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. As of 2023 the service employs 70 police officers and 10 civilians, and has a budget of $12.4 million. It is headed by Chief Brad MacConnell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Pacific Kansas City Police Service</span> Private railroad police force

The Canadian Pacific Kansas City Police Service, formerly known as Canadian Pacific Police Service (CPPS) is a private railroad police force enforcing safety and policing along Canadian Pacific Kansas City properties and rail lines in Canada and the United States. It includes limited sections of the Milton line of GO Transit in the Greater Toronto Area, which is being secured by its Transit Safety Officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton Police Service</span> Police service of Hamilton

The Hamilton Police Service (HPS) is the police service of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, the service employed 829 sworn officers and 414 non-sworn staff, serving a population of about 570 000 residents. The service's headquarters are located at 155 King William St., Hamilton, Ontario. As of 2022, the service's budget is $183 542 539, roughly 18.5% of the City's overall budget. It is one of the oldest police forces in Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement in Canada</span> Overview of law enforcement in Canada

Law enforcement in Canada is the responsibility of police services, special constabularies, and civil law enforcement agencies, which are operated by every level of government, some private and Crown corporations, and First Nations. In contrast to the United States or Mexico, and with the exception of the Unité permanente anticorruption in Quebec and the Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia, there are no organizations dedicated exclusively to the investigation of criminal activity in Canada. Criminal investigations are instead conducted by police services, which maintain specialized criminal investigation units in addition to their mandate for emergency response and general community safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Cayman Islands Police Service</span>

The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) is the standing police force of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. The police force was formed in 1907 and currently (2009) stands at 343 enlisted officers, tasked with tackling Crime in the Cayman Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lethbridge Police Service</span>

The Lethbridge Police Service, formerly known as the Lethbridge Regional Police Service, was established 1902, and serves the city of Lethbridge, a community in southern Alberta of approximately 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census.

Auxiliary constables or reserve constables are unpaid citizens in Canada who volunteer their time and skills to a police force. They are uniformed, unarmed members who perform a similar role to their UK counterparts in the Special Constabulary. Their main function is to supplement the police force with additional manpower, with duties varying by appointment, geographical location and the needs of the specific detachment/department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberta Sheriffs Branch</span> Canadian law enforcement agency

The Alberta Sheriffs Branch is a provincial law enforcement agency overseen by the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services of the province of Alberta, Canada. Under the authority of the Peace Officer Act, Alberta Sheriffs are provincial peace officers with jurisdiction over the province of Alberta. The premier of Alberta has the authority to grant emergency police powers to all Alberta sheriffs during major emergencies within the province. The Alberta Sheriffs Branch is the largest sheriff service in Canada.

The 1991 New Zealand bravery awards were announced via a Special Honours List dated 19 December 1991. Twelve of the 33 recipients were recognised for acts of bravery during the Aramoana Massacre on 13 November 1990.

References

  1. Ward, Tom (1975). Cowtown : an album of early Calgary . Calgary: City of Calgary Electric System, McClelland and Stewart West. p.  274. ISBN   0-7712-1012-4 . Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  2. Shiels, Bob (1974). Calgary : a not too solemn look at Calgary's first 100 years. Calgary: The Calgary Herald. p. 119. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
  3. "Calgary constable's memorial moved at the request of his family". Global News.
  4. "HAWCS: Calgary's Eye in the Sky". Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  5. "On this day in 1995 - Christine Silverberg named first female police chief". Calgary Herald.
  6. 1 2 3 "Six years after his violent arrest, Calgary man says he's still waiting for justice". CBC News.
  7. "Cop who fractured man's skull during arrest convicted of aggravated assault". CBC News.
  8. "Calgary police officer resigns ahead of disciplinary hearings for allegedly violent arrests". CTV News. 10 September 2020.
  9. Service, Calgary Police (24 January 2013). "Welcome". www.calgarypolice.ca.
  10. "The City of Calgary - Requirements". Archived from the original on 2015-03-20.
  11. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/cadet-police-auxiliary-program-1.5154017 [ bare URL ]
  12. https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/police-auxiliary-cadet-program-canceled-after-union-raises-staffing-and-safety-concerns [ bare URL ]
  13. 1 2 "Man pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of police officer from Hagersville". CTV News. 9 December 2021.
  14. "'Hold tight, we're here': Calgary officer who tried to save Sgt. Andrew Harnett testifies at murder trial". CBC News.
  15. Service, Calgary Police (24 January 2013). "Welcome". www.calgarypolice.ca.
  16. "Calgary police augmenting motorcycle fleet with sportier models | Calgary Herald". May 6, 2017. Retrieved Nov 26, 2019.
  17. "2015 Harley-Davidson® FLHTP Electra Glide® Police" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
  18. Service, Calgary Police (24 January 2013). "Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety HAWCS". www.calgary.ca.

Notes

  1. Lenna Bradburn led the smaller Guelph Police Service from 1994 until 2000.

Further reading