Walking the beat: Calgary police battle public drunkenness, overdoses and understaffing

A woman lets out a loud and sudden scream. Just seconds earlier she was passed out on her back on a set of concrete steps at the base of a Calgary condo tower onMacleodTrail half-a-blockfrom Alpha House, a shelter that provides a place for people to sober up.

Calgary police acting Sgt. GregPiseskyis trying to find out the woman's name along with the six other people who've decided to crash here for the night. One of the men appears to be lying in a pool of his own urine.

"There are times when violations are laid, in this case I think our biggest thing is to get them into safety right now," saidPisesky.

He's part of the beat team in Calgary's central District 1. The unit was brought in eight years ago,and Pisesky, a 28-year policeveteran, has been with the unit since the start. CBC News followed him and his partner as they navigated the streets of inner-city Calgary.

Public intoxication is one of the more common incidents officers on foot patrol will face on this night.

Walk the beat with CPS officers on a typical night in Calgary's downtown core

7 years ago

Duration 0:42

Public intoxication, drug overdoses and car crashes are some of the most common calls officers receive.

It's 2 a.m. back at the group on Macleod Trail andPiseskyand his partner decide they need some help identifying the individuals, so they call theDOAPteam the Downtown Outreach Addictions Partnership a group of outreach workers dedicated to helping intoxicated people find a safe place to stay.

A First Nations woman arrives in one of the team's vansand is able to get a few names from the group.

Within minutes, three paramedics arrive to check on a man and a woman who are still unresponsive, while the others disperse to Alpha House, the Drop-In Centre or off into the night.

"We can only do what we can do. We try to talk to them when they're more sober to see if they can get into some rehabilitation and some do, don't get me wrong, some get out of this lifestyle, but it is a choiceand it's a hard, hard life for them,"saidPisesky.

Tickets and helping hands

A few hours earlier they helped a young woman who was face down in some rocks near one of the many bars alongTenthAvenue S.W. It was apparently her18thbirthday and her friends were with her,but not quite sure how to help. She was eventually helped into the back seat of a friend's car.

Pisesky and his partner decided to issue a $115 ticket to another man for drinking in public.It's not his first violation, as he was able to tell the officer the exact amount of the fine as his beer was poured out.

"I like to think that I have made a little bit of a difference, let's be realistic, you're not going to save the world, but if we can help one person, then we've done something," saidPisesky.

It's the same goal for the two other District 1 officers CBC News recently followed. One of their calls was to remove an intoxicated homeless man planning to spend the night outside an apartment building in Chinatown.

"We could very well write that guy a ticket for being intoxicated in public, but is that in the best public interest? No. We're just going to try to get him to a safe place [where] he can sleep it off for the evening," saidCst.TravisWestlake.

It's not all drunkenness though. Westlakeand his partner, Cst. AdamRumsey attended a car crash, a possible heroin overdose andfaced a potentially hostile situation while serving a 70-year-old man with a promise to appear in court on a charge of threatening a city employee.

The man wasbelligerentat times, raised his voice and at one point shouted: "You want my death?Take me!" Officers left him with the document and went on their way.

Downtown crime shows slight decline

Statistics released by Calgary police show a slight decline in some crimes committed in the downtown core.Through the first four months of this year, the numbers show fewer street robberies as well as social and physical disorder calls.

On mobile?Click here to see changing crime stats.

Not all officers are feeling a reprieve.Some of them have told CBC News they're frustrated shifts are not fully staffed on some nights.They say it not only impacts morale, but response times for lower priority calls.

They're also frustrated a recruit class of 24 new officers for this year was postponed andhasn't been re-scheduled.

The officers who voiced their concerns didn't want their names used.

'Clear vacancies'

The inspector for District 1 doesn't dispute the complaints, but he wants his officers to know as many as 12 new frontline positions will be filled by the fall.

"We do have teams right now that just aren't fully staffed for a number of reasons, there's just clear vacancies in some of those positions," saidInsp.RyanAyliffe.

"We're listening, we're very supported by our executive, we're getting bodies," saidAyliffe.

"Calls for service are important, the frontlineis definitely a focus of the chief's," he added.

• Bryan Labby is an investigative reporter with CBC Calgary. If you have a good story idea or tip, you can reach him atbryan.labby@cbc.caor on Twitter at@CBCBryan.