Crime continues to climb outside Sheldon Chumir: report

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Crime around Calgary’s only safe consumption site continues to be a major concern.

Following a town hall held Wednesday by the Province’s review panel on consumption sites, Calgary police will present an updated report on crime in the area on Thursday.

Insp. Rob Davidson with District 1 of CPS said officers responded to more crimes near the centre in the second quarter of this year.

“In almost all of the crime type areas, we’re seeing some type of increase. That’s higher than the City Centre average. The only area that went down was break and enters.”

According to the report, police responded to 883 calls for service, an increase of 40 per cent from the three-year average.

CPS members were in attendance at a town hall Wednesday night where residents voiced concerns while others expressed support for safe consumption sites.

READ MORE: Province holds town hall on supervised consumption sites in Calgary

While police are monitoring a 250-metre buffer zone around Sheldon Chumir, Davidson says they’re also focusing on crimes outside that radius.

“We have heard concerns from community and businesses in the outside area. Sustainability for us is going to be the really tough question because we are dealing with a finite number of people and issues. What we are doing is not just policing one area in one part of our community but the entire city centre.”

This comes as several businesses and residents are worried about a ‘ripple effect’ saying crime has spiked since police increased its presence around Sheldon Chumir.

 

With files from CityNews