City of Calgary reiterates enhanced surveillance for CTrain stations

The City of Calgary is reiterating its promise for enhanced security on public transit systems in a safety update on Monday afternoon.

According to a news release, the city said it is actively recruiting and training new peace officers to patrol CTrain stations. Six transit peace officers graduated last week, the city said, and 14 more are set to complete their training in early 2023.

The city said it will have 25 per cent more transit peace officers patrolling the system when the recruitment process is complete.

The city is also looking to recruit and train 31 enhanced security guards to actively patrol the system. These security guards will have more authority than regular security, but the city did not elaborate on what those authorities are.

In addition to new peace officers, the city also announced it will increase staffing levels at Calgary Transit’s operations control centre which dispatches officers and monitors CCTV cameras. The increased staffing levels aim to enhance the city’s ability to monitor 1,200 CCTV cameras and deploy response teams as required.

Calgary Transit Ambassadors, a team designed to increase visible presence at CTrain stations, will alert the centre when they witness or come across issues or incidents.

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“This is a complex issue, and we know that any solution needs to involve a highly coordinated, multi-agency effort in order to see results,” the city said in Monday’s release.

The update comes after Calgary Transit announced its relaunch strategy in April, which included enhanced security personnel amid safety concerns from riders.

Safety on Calgary Transit has been a growing concern during the pandemic, with CTrain riders saying they often feel unsafe while using the transit system.

Read more: Calgary Transit says 2 years needed to improve service as work continues on safety concerns

Previously, the public transit agency said the City of Calgary earmarked $5.9 million to train and recruit new transit peace officers.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek also said the city is still waiting for provincial funding to help improve transit safety, which was announced in October.

“We have heard from Calgarians, and want you know we are working hard to make transit in Calgary safer,” city manager David Duckworth said in a statement.

“This is a highly-coordinated, multi-agency effort involving the Calgary Police Service, Transit Safety, Community Services, 911 and Calgary’s many community social service partners, stepping up their collaborative efforts to increase safety for Calgarians.”