CPS Chief says we need to define, not defund

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – The Calgary Police Service (CPS) plans to continue to work with the community to address systemic racism within the force and the city.

“This has been a difficult time since the death of George Floyd and one of the things we learned very quickly is even though we had very good relationships with the communities here in Calgary, it wasn’t enough,” said Police Chief Mark Neufeld.

“They weren’t as good as perhaps we thought they were.”

Neufeld says he plans to listen to concerns to better understand the problems that need to be addressed.

“I think our approach thus far has been to make sure that we listen and that we learn and that we are taking account of opportunities going forward in terms of ways in which we might make meaningful reform and meaningful changes.”

“We’ve spent a lot of time in the beginning not being defensive. We took a step back and said we are going to make sure that we listen both internally and externally.”

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In response to the outcry to defund the police force, Neufeld says we first must understand what true definition of defunding some of the public is calling for.

“For some this about diverting money, for some this about dismantling the police, for others it’s about disarming police,” said Neufeld.

“It’s important in the discussion to figure out where on the continuum individuals are.”

He says he believes the majority of Calgarians believe the police force provides a crucial role in the community.

He added that most of those on the other side of the argument proposes diverting police funds into different programs, such as social programs, house subsidies, and the like.

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However, he says they seem to be lacking any practical plans for implementing these changes.

In addition, he says he had a good conversation with a group who said: “we don’t need to defund, we need to define”.

“(We must define) our collective expectations of what police officers ought to be doing and, once we do that, then that question of how to apportion money or resources becomes far more clear.”

Neufeld says police are often the first response in Calgary when they don’t necessarily need to be, in cases of homelessness, mental health, and other issues.

He says he believes there is quite a bit of money in the system already, and that properly coordinating the resources now might be the answer they are looking for.

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