Facing 'severe' infrastructure strain, police ask council for 73% funding boost

Police say Calgary's infrastructure challenges go beyond broken water pipes. The Calgary Police Service says it's facing buildings in disrepair, crumbling parking lots and aging vehicles. Along with the Police Commission, it's asking Council for a heavy investment in the city's next budget. We have roofs that are leaking. We know that there are some facilities where we've run out of lockers for our officers. We know there are some facilities where toilets are leaking, showers are inoperable. CPS is asking for about $192 million in capital funding over the next four years, a 73% increase from the last budget cycle. The largest share, $73 million, would go towards the police fleet, replacing vehicles and adding another $160 million. Our vehicles are getting miled out a lot quicker than they did because our officers are having to travel greater distances to get to calls for service. Police say another $56 million is needed for repairs and renovations to facilities. And frankly, the physical infrastructure is not sufficient to keep up with a growing number of officers that need to work out of these buildings as well. CPS plans to hire another 300 officers by 2030, but police are not asking for funding for any new stations, including a downtown district office. That's despite the mayor saying a downtown station is a priority, and he'll continue advocating for one. I certainly ran on delivering for Calgarians an increased downtown police presence. I would like to see that take form in a police station, but if the police chief and commission have a plan for addressing downtown safety without a station, I'm happy to have that conversation. In a statement, the police commission says its focus is on rebuilding frontline staffing, and a downtown station would not provide the same return to Calgarians. The commission says it is awaiting the results of an ongoing feasibility study on what, if any downtown station would be most helpful. Council will debate the police funding request along with the rest of the city's spending plan next month. Brendan Coulter, CBC News, Calgary.