‘Dire straits’: Calgary police chief wants staffing boost over next four years

CALGARY – A large sign on the front doors of the Calgary Police Service headquarters doesn’t mince words: “We are hiring.”

“We’re the third largest municipal police service in the country,” Chief Const. Katie McLellan said in an interview.

“When you look at that and look at our population, we’re in dire straits with respect to the amount of people that we have.”

The force has about 3,200 employees, with 2,300 of them front-line officers. McLellan plans to approach city council this year with a four-year plan to hire another 660 officers. 

“The strain right now is the front line,” she said.

“With the number that’s so low, they’re basically just being reactive police officers. There’s not a lot of time for proactive work out there.”

The job takes a toll. About 13 per cent of officers have been reassigned to different duties within the service, McLellan said. Six per cent are not at work at all, for reasons including medical leave.

The chief joined the service 35 years ago. The job is more challenging now, she said, especially for new officers. 

“If we got a gun callback in the early ’90s, it would be the call of the year. 

“Now our young members are seeing guns and drugs and weapons every day, and they’re dealing with mental health issues every day.

“People are calling because they’re in crisis.”

There’s an opportunity cost when police are busy reacting to what has already happened, McLellan added

“We’ve seen sadly and unfortunately youth crime has gone up,” she said. “We need to engage with them. We need to be able to explain to them what the potential consequences (of crime) can be.” 

The hunt is on in earnest for new recruits: at job fairs, boot camps, school visits and meetings with sports teams.

The force is trying to make it easier to apply by having applicants write the admission test online and complete a voice test instead of a polygraph. Applicants must be 18 or older.

To date, McLellan said, it’s making a difference: “We actually have, finally, a (talent) pool.”

Justice studies professor Doug King said finding new officers isn’t just a Calgary problem. 

“Every major police agency in Canada is experiencing the same challenge,” said King, with Mount Royal University in Calgary.

Some of it, he said, is just simple demographics, with more officers hitting retirement age.

King said there are two untapped groups that recruitment can focus on: women, who make up only 20 per cent of current officers, and racialized minorities. 

He said that over the last two decades, police forces, rather than finding their own recruits, have been taking from each other.

“Half of the people the police agencies hire are experienced officers that are coming in from another agency,” King said. “They’re picking the carcass of each other. We’ll take some from Edmonton, but Vancouver will take some from Calgary.”

King said services should focus a lot of their recruiting efforts on post-secondary institutions, which have a “huge pool of people.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2026.