shortage of cops in calgary [Archive] - Beyond.ca - Car Forums

Cherrypicker

03-31-2006, 12:24 AM

i know im not the only one who finds this completely absurd

what gives?

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2006/03/30/1511909-sun.html

Thu, March 30, 2006

Cop crew shortage blastedPolice union leader says thin staff a risk to safety

By SARAH KENNEDY, CALGARY SUN

Police association president Al Koenig. (File photo)
The Calgary Police Service is playing "Russian roulette with public safety" by not having enough officers patrolling the streets, says police association president Al Koenig.

"As an association, we've warned there's a police crisis coming and it seems that it's here," he said yesterday. "The problem is, despite the strength we have on paper, we don't have enough officers to police this city properly."

Calgary's top cop Chief Jack Beaton said although he would love to have more officers on the streets, he disagrees the situation has reached dire proportions.

"This is not a crisis issue we face," he said.

"Could we do more with more? Yes," he said.

"But we can only apply for more resources at the expense of the taxpayers."

Koenig's comments came a day after members of the police traffic unit were called in to assist officers in District 2 on Tuesday with a stabbing and shooting.

He said officers are commonly responding to calls outside their jurisdiction be-cause there's just not the manpower on the streets.

"Public safety is at risk," he said.

Paramedics and fire crews are frequently beating police to emergencies because they don't have the officers readily available, Koenig added.

"We are operating just a little above half-strength," he said. "We are about 350 officers short of what we should be based on other cities of similar size."

Koenig believes the problem is the result of cutting new hires to contend with budget shortages and a dwindling interest in joining the service.

CrvenaZvezda

03-31-2006, 12:29 AM

wow this is very hard to believe, especially when driving down mcleod trail on a friday night...

dragonone

03-31-2006, 01:54 AM

i thought we were something like 10 to 1

James

03-31-2006, 02:25 AM

Originally posted by dragonone
i thought we were something like 10 to 1

what civilains to officers?....lol, u think theres 100,000 cops?

I hope that that was a typo

:nut: ....Can Never have too many police as long as there doing things that matter, not just handing out lame traffic tickets...so i guess that means they should do police CUTBACKS!, by about 50% :rolleyes:

matt_calgary

03-31-2006, 02:27 AM

I'd love to see more officers with no quota, but what am I saying, that'll never happen

RickDaTuner

03-31-2006, 02:38 AM

I want to see writen proof or studies that showcase this statement. Traffic Violations are one thing, but show me murders, rapes, thefts, burgalry etc.. etc... that show that there is such a high demand for more police.

I am all for having more Security In Calgary, but I question how money would be used wisely in that sense?

I don't fully understand all the variables, but at first glance this looks like trying to put band-aid after band-aid over a stab wound, all its going to do is bleed some more:dunno:

Zoom_Zoom

03-31-2006, 03:05 AM

Fuck that shit :guns: :bullshit: Driving around westhills last weekend I saw 5 cruisers within a couple blocks radius, if they need more officers, move em out of traffic we dont need those useless fucks sitting in cruisers, eating timmy hoes while manning a radar gun, we pay their salary and they pull sneaky radar traps on us, Kiss My Ass Al Koenig and CPS traffic division.

dub_c

03-31-2006, 03:14 AM

Originally posted by Zoom_Zoom
Fuck that shit :guns: :bullshit: Driving around westhills last weekend I saw 5 cruisers within a couple blocks radius, if they need more officers, move em out of traffic we dont need those useless fucks sitting in cruisers, eating timmy hoes while manning a radar gun, we pay their salary and they pull sneaky radar traps on us, Kiss My Ass Al Koenig and CPS traffic division. ..

thats right ! stick it to the man lol

StupidWade

03-31-2006, 09:20 AM

I've noticed an inverse correlation between the number of donut shops in Calgary and the per-capita number of police officers patrolling the streets.

Coincidence? I think not.

You want more cops on the streets? I got three words for you. "Close the donut shops."

Nissanaddict

03-31-2006, 09:24 AM

Ok, I was pissed on Wednesday. I USUALLY have no problem with cops...but I'm driving down 17th near 7th in the right lane....and the taillight strobes on a cop van in front of me go on a few blocks down....pulls over, they BOTH get out of the Van, and they're sticking out into the left lane too....get out, and go into McDicks. Those are the cops that do irritate me. Pull into the parking lot like a civilian, if you're doing something as a civilian.

rony_espana

03-31-2006, 09:25 AM

DayGlow

03-31-2006, 09:42 AM

Originally posted by Nissanaddict
Ok, I was pissed on Wednesday. I USUALLY have no problem with cops...but I'm driving down 17th near 7th in the right lane....and the taillight strobes on a cop van in front of me go on a few blocks down....pulls over, they BOTH get out of the Van, and they're sticking out into the left lane too....get out, and go into McDicks. Those are the cops that do irritate me. Pull into the parking lot like a civilian, if you're doing something as a civilian.

because there would never be a call for service at that location?

bspot

03-31-2006, 09:48 AM

I'd agree that we need more police. I've been through one radar trap in probably the last year, and I've driven 24,000 kms. I speed every day and I've gotten one ticket.

For those of you that complain about tickets I'll ask the question I always do. Would you rather your taxes go up to pay for the police instead? Or should we let the speeders/drunk drivers/drivers without insurance pay for the police service instead? Exactly.

When I get a speeding ticket I think of it as a forced donation to a good cause ;)

skandalouz_08

03-31-2006, 09:55 AM

as much as I hate the cops i agree with bspot, the safer our city will be

2002civic

03-31-2006, 10:03 AM

Originally posted by skandalouz_08
as much as I hate the cops i agree with bspot, the safer our city will be :werd: :drama:

kevie88

03-31-2006, 11:19 AM

Originally posted by Nissanaddict
Ok, I was pissed on Wednesday. I USUALLY have no problem with cops...but I'm driving down 17th near 7th in the right lane....and the taillight strobes on a cop van in front of me go on a few blocks down....pulls over, they BOTH get out of the Van, and they're sticking out into the left lane too....get out, and go into McDicks. Those are the cops that do irritate me. Pull into the parking lot like a civilian, if you're doing something as a civilian.

do you know how many shady characters I've seen at that location? I'm sure they were there to deal with a problem, especially if they had the lights on.

BerserkerCatSplat

03-31-2006, 12:18 PM

Originally posted by Nissanaddict
Ok, I was pissed on Wednesday. I USUALLY have no problem with cops...but I'm driving down 17th near 7th in the right lane....and the taillight strobes on a cop van in front of me go on a few blocks down....pulls over, they BOTH get out of the Van, and they're sticking out into the left lane too....get out, and go into McDicks. Those are the cops that do irritate me. Pull into the parking lot like a civilian, if you're doing something as a civilian.

I love how you assume that cops never get called to a McDonalds. It must be a little-known fact that McDonalds locations are 100% crime-free.

Cherrypicker

03-31-2006, 12:32 PM

Compared to other places I have travelled, Calgary seems to have WAY more cops /quota

i have also heard this from many newcomers to the city

Benton

03-31-2006, 06:05 PM

Every police force is going to have a shortage of police officers in the next 5-10 years with a large number retiring and fewer qualified applicants to take their place. Expect this to become a bigger problem in the next few years.

stevelou

03-31-2006, 06:28 PM

When I took some criminal justice courses they had statics on what was a safe officer to civilian ratio. They said then ( 2 years ago) that Calgary was close to the max at 1 officer to 750 civilians. Anything more and when the sh!t hits the fan there won't be enough officers to do anything. NOT to mention that to even become a Officer for calgary you have to jump through too many hoops and then they defer you because you are too police oriented. Calgary has some of the highest standards to become a member where as Edmonton and Rcmp will take alot more less qualified ppl. People are actually going to other cities because they can get in and after two years they transfer back.......to calgary because then they don't have to jump through stupid hoops

95EagleAWD

03-31-2006, 06:35 PM

Every department in the country has a manpower shortage these days. No one wants to be a cop... wonder why? Is it the great pay, or the wonderful hours?

stevelou

03-31-2006, 07:14 PM

The average RCMP makes about 45 ish an hour plus all the wonderful overtime but the benefits are good and the time off is ridiculous....

But that being said you are dealing with the asshole of the world 24/7

all it really is, is babysitting the public :eek:

Godfuader

03-31-2006, 07:35 PM

Originally posted by bspot
I'd agree that we need more police. I've been through one radar trap in probably the last year...

I was going to bitch that cops should stop setting up speed traps and just patrol the streets, but you are right, I have seen minimal amount of speed traps in the city nowadays.

Originally posted by stevelou
The average RCMP makes about 45 ish an hour plus all the wonderful overtime but the benefits are good and the time off is ridiculous....

are you sure they make $45+/hr??? in normal work hours (8hrs x 5 days x 50 weeks x $45) that would mean a gross salary of about $90K :dunno:

l8braker

03-31-2006, 07:48 PM

Originally posted by stevelou
When I took some criminal justice courses they had statics on what was a safe officer to civilian ratio. They said then ( 2 years ago) that Calgary was close to the max at 1 officer to 750 civilians. Anything more and when the sh!t hits the fan there won't be enough officers to do anything. NOT to mention that to even become a Officer for calgary you have to jump through too many hoops and then they defer you because you are too police oriented. Calgary has some of the highest standards to become a member where as Edmonton and Rcmp will take alot more less qualified ppl. People are actually going to other cities because they can get in and after two years they transfer back.......to calgary because then they don't have to jump through stupid hoops

I was talking to my buddy's Dad last week about applying to CPS. He's been on the force for 30 years and is a Sgt. He's currently working an undercover tactical unit called "Strike Force". Drug busts/fugitives. Stuff you never, ever hear about... Anyways he said there are grumblings about this shortage within the force bigtime as well CPS's standards. If your skin color is anything but white, those hoops you speak of disappear.

TurboMedic

03-31-2006, 07:52 PM

All standards are kinda wonkey, I agree CPS is a difficult process, I went 4 steps in and quit (for personal reasons). RCMP is the same way with racial profiling, I as a white male, had to write a higher test score than any other group I was against....and it was a fairly large gap too if I remember correctly....

stevelou

03-31-2006, 07:59 PM

unfortunately mine is nothing but white so the hoops are nothing but in the way......

I was thinking of trying to get micheal jacksons skin color secret

JK :nut:

I have family that are in the RCMP and they say that a 2nd or 3rd year member can clear 100gs a year because there is so much overtime available......... This issue isn't just in calgary but its a issue nation wide....

Los Angeles is actually trying to get canadians to go down there and work because no one there wants the job... I wonder why!!!!!!!!!!!!

stevelou

03-31-2006, 08:02 PM

stevelou

03-31-2006, 08:07 PM

double post :eek:

internet is screwing me up

sorry about that

The rcmp is desperate now they are looking to put 2000 ppl through this year and have lowered the scoring on tests

about the racial issue i'm not sure if that has changed or not.....

95EagleAWD

03-31-2006, 09:23 PM

Originally posted by stevelou
Calgary has some of the highest standards to become a member where as Edmonton and Rcmp will take alot more less qualified ppl. People are actually going to other cities because they can get in and after two years they transfer back.......to calgary because then they don't have to jump through stupid hoops

You have this completely 100% backwards.

EPS has the absolute highest enrolement standards of any Police Department in North America. They have the toughest physical in North America. They are probably the hardest Police Department to get on with.

Lots of people I know (at Brinks and elsewhere) are applying for CPS instead of EPS because of the easy (really easy) physical and lower standards. The PARE is a joke for a physical test. I've run it three time and have posted excellent times for all three, despite being sleepless for one and driving from Fort Mac to Red Deer to run it...

However, my application goes into the EPS this summer... we'll see how tough it really is! :drama:

DayGlow

03-31-2006, 11:48 PM

Originally posted by Cherrypicker
Compared to other places I have travelled, Calgary seems to have WAY more cops /quota

i have also heard this from many newcomers to the city

Actually we are the second lowest for officer to public ratio behind Ottawa.

Chris88CL

04-01-2006, 01:02 AM

Originally posted by 95EagleAWD

You have this completely 100% backwards.

EPS has the absolute highest enrolement standards of any Police Department in North America. They have the toughest physical in North America. They are probably the hardest Police Department to get on with.

Lots of people I know (at Brinks and elsewhere) are applying for CPS instead of EPS because of the easy (really easy) physical and lower standards. The PARE is a joke for a physical test. I've run it three time and have posted excellent times for all three, despite being sleepless for one and driving from Fort Mac to Red Deer to run it...

However, my application goes into the EPS this summer... we'll see how tough it really is! :drama:

Edmonton does have the toughest physical, but the toughest process period? I dunno about that. CPS likes to defer for bogus reasons.

RCMP make roughly $70k/yr to start and theres a TON of overtime available. Not all of the overtime however is optional. They work crazy hours because theres a serious shortage of officers. When theres 8 officers to a town of 20,000+ its tough to find time off and still have everything covered.

And as for the PARE being easy......try doing it at U of C instead of Red Deer. Most people go to Red Deer because their standards are alot lower than U of C and its a hell of alot easier to score better. Everything is easier when you take the easy way out ;)

DayGlow

04-01-2006, 01:18 AM

you're a little off on the salary for RCMP

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/recruiting/salary_e.htm

you can compare that to CPS

http://www.calgarypolice.ca/recruiting/html/salary_benefits.htm

EPS

http://www.joineps.ca/benefits/salaries/

Vancouver

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/police/recruiting/salary.htm

Volvoguy23

04-01-2006, 01:19 AM

:thumbsdow

stevelou

04-01-2006, 01:57 AM

I have to buddies who applied for cps at the same time..... one got deferred for two years because of a bad driving record the other got deferred for six months for not being mature enough after that he moved on through a few more stages and was at the psychological stage and then they deferred him for another six months because he wasn't competitive enough..... after that period of time he made it through til the bitter end all they had to do was give him his acceptance notice and he was in and then they had the bright idea of deferring him for two years because he was too police oriented....... really don't understand as to how that is a bad thing but that is a cps thing i guess all that i know is that they lost another potential candidate to some other force because of the stupid azz selection process

that being said knowing someones dad who is high always helps getting certain individuals in .......
but thats life its not what you know its who you know

95EagleAWD

04-01-2006, 02:25 PM

Originally posted by Chris88CL

And as for the PARE being easy......try doing it at U of C instead of Red Deer. Most people go to Red Deer because their standards are alot lower than U of C and its a hell of alot easier to score better. Everything is easier when you take the easy way out ;)

Actually, I've done the PARE twive at RCMP Headquarters in Edmonton here... with the cops all looking at you like you're fish in a barrel.

69cougar

04-01-2006, 02:42 PM

Originally posted by l8braker

I was talking to my buddy's Dad last week about applying to CPS. He's been on the force for 30 years and is a Sgt. He's currently working an undercover tactical unit called "Strike Force". Drug busts/fugitives. Stuff you never, ever hear about... Anyways he said there are grumblings about this shortage within the force bigtime as well CPS's standards. If your skin color is anything but white, those hoops you speak of disappear.

Originally posted by TurboMedic
All standards are kinda wonkey, I agree CPS is a difficult process, I went 4 steps in and quit (for personal reasons). RCMP is the same way with racial profiling, I as a white male, had to write a higher test score than any other group I was against....and it was a fairly large gap too if I remember correctly....
...

82SilverStang

04-01-2006, 05:02 PM

Originally posted by stevelou
I have to buddies who applied for cps at the same time..... one got deferred for two years because of a bad driving record the other got deferred for six months for not being mature enough after that he moved on through a few more stages and was at the psychological stage and then they deferred him for another six months because he wasn't competitive enough..... after that period of time he made it through til the bitter end all they had to do was give him his acceptance notice and he was in and then they had the bright idea of deferring him for two years because he was too police oriented....... really don't understand as to how that is a bad thing but that is a cps thing i guess all that i know is that they lost another potential candidate to some other force because of the stupid azz selection process

that being said knowing someones dad who is high always helps getting certain individuals in .......
but thats life its not what you know its who you know

Not saying this applies to your buddy but I personally would rather see CPS defer someone who isn't ready mentally to be a cop than have a cop running around out there with a huge ego and bad attitude. Everyone on here has a "dick cop" encounter story. Would you prefer that CPS give up on weeding these people out at the recruiting stage?