Article content continued

During a wide-ranging, more than two-hour, presentation and question-and-answer period at council, Chaffin said Calgary leads the nation in vehicle thefts and a rise in shooting events — 91 during the first 10 months of 2017, compared to 61 over the same time period in 2016 — is another source of great concern for officers.

While some city councillors questioned if money would be better spent on prevention, rather than boots on the street, Chaffin said as police workloads increase, the $14.3 million is needed to hire 55 new civilian and sworn members to address the growing demands he detailed.

Photo by Gavin Young / Calgary Herald

Chaffin told council that in 2012, there was one police officer for every 598 people in Calgary. That number is projected to be one officer for every 628 people next year, without the additional officers.

“The workload of 2012 is not the workload of 2018. Policing is far more complex,” the chief said.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi said while Calgary remains “an extraordinarily safe city,” there have been some spikes in certain areas of crime.

“Much of this is related to the economic downturn. Much of it is related to the fentanyl crisis. I’m quite sympathetic to the need of addressing those two things,” Nenshi said.

Council is expected to make a decision regarding the increased funding for police later this week.

The first day of budget deliberations on Monday saw 21 Calgarians present to council, including many who spoke in favour of Calgary’s newish and popular $5.05 bus pass and sliding scale for low-income transit users, which administration is recommending council continue to fund with $4 million.