Bylaw infractions double as peace officers up patrols in Calgary parks

Calgary bylaw officers have issued double the number of violation tickets this year — which the city says is a direct result of increased patrols in parks and other outdoor hotspots during the pandemic.

According to statistics provided by the city, between January and July in 2019, officers issued 204 tickets. This year, that number has shot up to 428, representing a 106 per cent increase. 

Insp. Susan Wall of Calgary community standards told CBC News that when the pandemic hit, bylaw resources were focused on patrols to help during the state of local emergency, which was active between March 16 and July 7.

In that time, peace officers handed out six tickets, total, under the Public Health Act.

Wall said patrols increased dramatically, and as a result, so did ticketing.

"Each officer increased their patrols in their districts," Wall said. "We will then kind of have areas where we'll focus a few more officers, such as downtown, parks, areas of Glenmore Park … where it's been busy." 

While the city takes an education-first approach, Wall said sometimes tickets are warranted. In a typical summer, public drinking tickets are common. But this year, public drinking tickets are up 88 per cent, compared with those issued in 2019 between January and July.

"Typically, during the summer months for sure where park use is up, certainly people like to take a drink into the park," she said.

"Over the last few months, consuming liquor in public has upped because our park patrols have upped. We have a varied amount of tickets that we do issue under different bylaws, but it seems to be consuming liquor in public is probably our top one so far." 

Curtis Mah was one of the 81 people dinged for drinking in a public space this summer. 

On a warm Wednesday evening, he was sharing a six-pack with a friend by the Elbow River in Mission. Looking around, he guessed almost all the groups on the rocky shore were sipping their beverages. Everyone was physically distant, respectful, and cleaned up after themselves.

It was a calculated risk — Mah said he knows drinking in public is illegal — but he felt it was a safer bet than going to a bar where he hasn't been impressed with physical distancing.

A peace officer spotted him, just as he took a sip, and walked over. Mah said the peace officer asked for ID and started writing. 

The City of Calgary needs to look at other cities ... that are way farther ahead of us that actually treat their citizens like responsible adults.- Curtis Mah, fined for drinking in public

His six-pack ended up costing more than $120 (the cost of the ticket).

"He's just trying to do his job, but I think it's pretty ridiculous," Mah said. "With all that's going on in the city, that enforcement would try and target adults who are enjoying moderate alcohol consumption during a pandemic."

Mah said he saw one other person get fined that day. Everyone else nearby was able to stash their brews out of sight. 

He said there wasn't littering or disorder, just responsible adults cooling down on a hot day.

Last year, the City of Calgary polled residents about a public drinking pilot project. Opinions were split, and the city shelved the idea because enforcement would be too complex. Currently, the city has a zero-tolerance policy for public drinking.

"The City of Calgary needs to look at other cities, like Vancouver or even cities in Europe, that are way farther ahead of us that actually treat their citizens like responsible adults," Mah said.

"I don't see why that would be discouraged, especially during a pandemic, when we're encouraged to go outside and be apart from people."

Typically, between 20 and 35 peace officers are patrolling every day. During the local state of emergency, officers completed 2,600 public health patrols.