Calgarians' trust in police continues to drop: police commission survey

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Calgarians’ perceptions of police are on the decline, according to new data from the city’s police oversight board.

The Calgary police commission released the results of its 2022 citizen satisfaction survey at its Wednesday meeting, revealing dwindling confidence and trust in the Calgary Police Service compared to its last survey in 2020, though the majority of Calgarians continue to give the force high grades.

The survey also found Calgarians identify use of force, accountability and officer conduct as areas of lower performance for police.

Seventy-seven per cent of Calgarians say they have high or moderate trust in CPS, a decline from 85 per cent two years ago.

Satisfaction with CPS dropped seven percentage points to 85 per cent, the lowest rating since the police commission began asking the question in 2008.

Eighty-six per cent of respondents said they were confident CPS can provide services that will make Calgary a safe place to live, down from 94 per cent.

“The results were not unexpected given the conversations we have been having about needed police reforms over the past few years, but it is still disappointing,” police commission chair Shawn Cornett said in a statement.

“A lot of work is underway to address the concerns of Calgarians, but the complexity of problems like systemic racism and needed police reform have made these changes slower than any of us wanted.”

The results show a continuing trend of souring public opinion of police, first recorded in Calgary in 2020 when survey results found a decline in trust in police, particularly among Black and Indigenous Calgarians.

That surveying in 2020 coincided with the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer, sparking international demonstrations and putting the topic of systemic racism among police forces, including in Calgary, in the spotlight.

Calgarians’ perception of police conduct has dipped significantly in the intervening two years, according to polling results.

Police Chief Mark Neufeld said the results were “disappointing,” including that public perception of police was worse among those who had interacted with police in the past year compared to those who had not.

“To see a drop like that is never good … It’s understandable that there would be drops given the spotlight that’s been on policing during COVID and the changes and challenges that we dealt with from the enforcement of restrictions, which was something new for policing, to protests and demonstrations and staffing issues,” Neufeld said.

“Calgarians are smart, they identified some issues and we’ll be responsive to them.”

Only 61 per cent of respondents said they believe police respond fairly when dealing with all segments of the Calgary community, down from 70 per cent in 2020 and the high of 84 per cent in 2015.

Sixty-eight per cent said they believe police effectively handle incidents involving people in crisis, and a newly introduced survey question found 66 per cent think officers use force appropriately.

Police accountability was identified as an area of weakness, with 63 per cent saying they agree that CPS takes responsibility for the actions of its officers, down from 75 per cent two years ago.

Many of those metrics began trending downward in 2015, Mount Royal University justice studies professor Doug King noted. He said recent external factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and broader movements for police defunding don’t account for Calgarians’ declining perceptions of their local police.

“Those are excuses, they’re not explanations, and some of these trends have been happening, quite frankly, since Chief Rick Hanson left,” King said.

“So here’s the dilemma: is this a leadership issue within the Calgary Police Service, or is it more an issue that we need to re-engage with how we deliver services to the community, get back to a more community-based policing model.”

It’s now up to the police commission to determine the best path forward for the force, King said.

Respondents identified dealing with domestic violence and addiction, and creating a special policy for dealing with mental-health issues as the two top areas for improvement.

Three-in-10 citizens perceived police as falling short in addressing violence related to drugs, gangs and organized crime, as well as handling people in mental-health or addictions crisis.

The survey also addressed feelings of safety in the city, as Calgary’s violent crime rates sit at a five-year high, with the city on pace for its worst year on record for weapons-related incidents.

Eighty-five per cent of respondents agreed Calgary is a safe city to live in, the lowest rate since 2009, as concerns over homelessness and safety on public transit surged.

In her statement, Cornett said the survey results will help inform police and commission priorities ahead of council budget deliberations this fall. She said the commission will ask council for help in addressing police staffing shortages.

“It is encouraging to see that the vast majority of Calgarians are still happy with the policing they receive, but the survey also confirms what we already knew — Calgarians want some real changes,” Cornett said.

The phone survey of 1,000 Calgarians was conducted by polling firm Illumina Research Partners over eight weeks from May to June 2022. It carries a margin of error of 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

jherring@postmedia.com

Twitter: @jasonfherring