Even double-time isn’t always enough to get Calgary police officers to pick up another shift.
After a busy summer, Deputy Chief Cliff O’Brien says the strain is showing up in unfilled overtime and call-out shifts.
“It’s pretty clear that our workforce is tired,” O’Brien told the Calgary Police Commission last Wednesday. “It doesn’t matter if they’re getting paid double time or whatever it is, they’re just… they’re tired, and they don’t want to do it.”
In one district, fewer than half of the available call-out shifts were filled, he said.
CPS wants to hire more cops
The warning comes as the Calgary Police Commission asks city council to fund 309 more police officers and another 214 technical experts and support staff as part of its proposed 2027-30 budget.
CPS says Calgary has about 144 police officers per 100,000 residents, compared with a national average of 178.
O’Brien said the problem isn’t just the number of calls coming in, but how many officers respond and how much time they take.
CPS responding to hundreds of calls daily
On Sept. 15, Calgary police responded to 915 calls for service over 12 hours, or about 76 an hour. At least 330 required two or more police units.
One road rage call escalated when three officers were assaulted while taking a suspect into custody. By the time it was resolved, O’Brien said the response involved 27 units and more than eight hours of recorded police service time.
During the same shift, a domestic conflict call required nine units for about four hours, while an injury collision tied up eight units for roughly two hours.
“It’s not just about how many calls are coming in,” O’Brien said. “It’s about the complexity behind them.”
CPS says it has already looked within the service for officers it could move to patrol.
Chief Katie McLellan told commissioners police considered reducing or collapsing other teams to put more members on the street.
“There are no extra teams,” McLellan said.
“If people want us to be proactive with respect to guns, and gangs, and drugs, and sex crimes, and homicides, and child abuse, there … there are no extras.”
The budget would also add 214 civilian positions, including crime analysts, lawyers, mechanics, and other support roles, which the commission says would free officers from work that other staff can handle.
CPS is also looking at technology and deployment changes, saying staffing alone will not solve the pressure.
City council is expected to decide in November whether to pay for the proposed staffing increases as part of the 2027-30 police budget.
