"Enough is enough" when it comes to crime in Calgary, according to the Calgary Police Service (CPS).With that, I was sent on my way with only one badge to my name, my media pass, to be a fly on the wall in a walk-along on Calgary's streets and watch authorities crack down on crime.The Initiative Safer Calgary – Operation Order combined a ton of CPS officers, transit peace officers and community partners, which they claim will crackdown on crime but also "connect vulnerable individuals with compassionate support."On its face, it sounds like a good idea — more cops (see clip below — they even had horses) should mean more effective results..We'll see how that goes — I will preface my observations are based on an hour walk-along with— Calgary Police Service District 1 Community Engagement Response Team Sergeant Kristian Thorpe.East Village is said to be one of the worst areas in Calgary to walk through, mainly because the Calgary Drop-in (DI) Centre is nearby.The DI was one of the main areas we visited — outside, near its entrance tents were crowded around, many of the homeless were residing right outside.The centre itself has gates surrounding it — to control who comes in and out.The extra cops promised lined the streets as they interacted with the homeless, having them leave and take their countless items (suitcases, tents, and bags) with them..Thorpe said due to an "in-depth investigation" into "The Family" a massive drug distribution network that would sell drugs to homeless drugs addicts mostly outside the DI, "we ended up laying about 70 charges, against a dozen people.""When we did the takedown, tents were not allowed to stay anymore for the reason, that A, it was hiding criminal activity, and B, it was impeding people from being able to freely access to DI center."Thorpe says the maintenance is daily now — done every day at 10 a.m. to sweep the area..That's basically what I witnessed — the streets were being cleaned up and the homeless were talking to officers, while packing up their stuff, with nowhere to go in sight.That's the thing — many are "just choosing to be out here," as Thorpe put it, instead of going into the DI.So with nowhere to go — where do you go?My assumption is you go full circle — kicked out of one area just to go back there the next day — and this is mostly what I witnessed while walking around East Village..The Calgary DI is known as the "largest shelter in North America,” and their capacity is approximately 1,078 people.According to 2024 stats from the Calgary Homeless Foundation, the estimated number of homeless people in the city is 3,121.Even if homeless people want to go, the city's DI cannot hold all of them — even with other places like the Salvation Army — it still doesn't seem like there is enough capacity.And on top of that — not everyone wants help.The only solution there seems to be at the moment is to kick them out of property they're trespassing on — just to rendez-vous with them at the same location the next day..There is a bit more — Thorpe says the ability for cops to build trust with homeless individuals might serve as long-term support."That's the approach that I'm trying to take and get my team to take: we don't have to solve anything in the now we solve it starting now."So maybe they are seeing results — and the massive amount of cops they had today could help build relationships — but talking doesn't always make problems go away, just like talking to a kid out of a meltdown doesn't always work — sometimes action is needed..But today, dear reader, I can honestly say I just saw more cops using the same methods they probably always do — kicking people out and saying "see ya tomorrow" (they didn't actually say that).Though it's a nice idea — you can't solve anything by multiplying the number of people doing the same thing you've been doing — and expecting a different result.
