New police 'link' in Bridgeland aims to increase officer presence, community engagement

The Calgary Police Service is working with the Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association (BRCA) to create a dedicated spacefor officers to work remotely and interact with the public.

Called the Community Engagement Link, police hopeit will build neighborhood relationships and help address concerns seen in many communities across the city,such as crime and social disorder.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Acting Sgt. Anthony Thompson said residents can come to the link to share their concerns with officers and pick upengagement materials like proactive crime prevention tips.

Initially, the space, located in the BRCA community hall, will be open to the public only on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with plans to expand to evenings and weekends in the future.

Thompson said the linkwill also provide local businesses and residentsmore access to officers, given the community's relatively longer distance from the CPS District 3 office near Nose Hill Park.

"Itsnot just our presence here one day a week, but the fact that we've opened it up to our patrol members as well, to touch down here, take care of some administrative needs, have lunch, use the washroom facilities. It will place us here and [our members] will have access here 24/7," said Thompson.

"District offices aren't exactly known to be the [most] welcoming places in the world. We wanted to provide a very inclusive space where people felt comfortable coming to share."

Alex MacWilliam, who is president of the community association, said he hopes the link will be a place where the public and police can exchange information and ultimately foster a safer community.

"We hope this opportunity will allow more of our residents to engage with [Calgary police] to come in and meet them, to get to know them, to provide their views, their experiences."

Thompson said the link is a pilot project, and that if successful, he hopes it can act as a model for other police districts in the city.

Police hold a one-year lease on the space with the BRCA. Thompson said they will reassess at the end of the yearwith the goal of extending the lease.

"We heard from the citizens in our citizens survey that Calgarians wanted more proactive engagement with their police service. That's what we want to offer through this," said Thompson.

Sam Spadafora, 87, has lived inBridgeland for five years. He said he's glad to hear about the opening of the new spaceand that he hopes it will allow members of the community to learn more from the police about issues happening in the neighbourhood.

"[This]right here is a beautiful thing," he said.

Blain Cellars is a Bridgelandresident anda member of thecommunity association board. He'sconcerned about crime in the community and said time will tell if the link makes a difference.

"I think [the link]its better than nothing," he said.

"I'm not optimistic that it's gonna do a lot, but it's a start."