Calgary police chief reflects on year defined by protests, low morale and loss of force's own

"A year of challenges."

That's how Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld describes 2021 — and those challenges are numerous.

They included recurring protests against COVID-19 health restrictions, eroding morale among the force, calls to defund policing, allegations of racism, a new city council and reckoning with the loss of Sgt. Andrew Harnett, who died on New Year's Eve in 2020, Neufeld says.

And, of course, the pandemic continues to influence how officers go about their work.

Yet asked to look ahead at the coming year, optimism remains for Neufeld.

He says he is excited about work the Calgary Police Service has done around alternative crisis models and the safety investment framework, intended to address gaps in outreach for mental health and addictions crises.

"We're focused on our community. You know, our bread and butter is public safety," he said.

"There's some good work that's been done in year one in 2021, which will be evaluated in year two, and also more good work to come."

In an interview with CBC Calgary News at 6 host Andrew Brown, Neufeld reflected on a turbulent year, the ways the police service needs to change, what he needs to do to increase morale on the force and more.

The interview has been edited for clarity and content.

Q: How would you describe 2021 for the Calgary Police Service?

A: I think it was certainly a year of challenges, starting out with the murder of Sgt. [Andrew] Harnett on Dec. 31 of last year.

It was a devastating time for Andrew's family, our members, the community — really everybody. And so, you know, that's been something that we've been dealing with. It's been a year of firsts in that regard.

And then, of course, the ongoing pandemic. You know, we've dealt with that just as everybody else has.

But I think like all other organizations, you've got to look for opportunities in the challenges as well. And we've tried to do that.

Q: A recent survey by the Calgary Police Commission suggested low morale among police officers. Eighty per cent say there is no climate of trust between employees and senior leaders. Why do you think that is?

A: It's been a very difficult year, of course, and it's a hard time to be on the frontline of anything. And I think obviously policing is one of those difficult environments.

I think historically, we've had issues around trust between the frontline and senior leadership, unfortunately. I think if you look over the last couple years, we had a fairly wholesale change as far as senior leadership goes.

And then of course, when a pandemic comes. I know a couple of the deputy chiefs that came into the organization from the outside didn't even have an opportunity — the pandemic basically started on the day they got here.

So, a very difficult environment, even to get out and to meet people, and to get known within the organization.

I think there's a lot of work to do in relation to just sort of getting out and getting known and building that trust. But I think COVID has made that very difficult.

Q: What do you need to do, do you think?

A: I think the big thing for me is to make sure that I'm supportive, and recognizing all the good that is going on.

There's been a lot said about policing, and some of the challenges that policing faces. And although not perfect, you know what, it's pretty darn good in our country.

And so, I need to make sure that the good stories that I am privy to — in terms of the letters I received daily from Calgarians, and the great outcomes from investigations, to internal work, to improvements on our police disciplinary system and all of those types of things — I've got to make sure that those stories are getting out there as well.

Because otherwise, there's a pretty steady diet of negativity. And in absence of getting the balance of the story out there, you know, the negativity sort of reigns. So that's one piece that sits with me.

Q: We're getting on two years of living through a pandemic. What kind of changes have been made to the way policing happens in Calgary over the last year or so?

A: When the pandemic started, I think like all other businesses and organizations, policing here in Calgary and elsewhere was looking to adapt the delivery of services, so that we can make sure that we kept our people safe and also kept Calgarians safe.

So everything from doing certain things over the phone, more effective use of PPE, closing down some stations and actually driving some of the business to online reporting, which has been good.

Another change we've seen is a significant increase in the number of protests and demonstrations in the environment here. That's something we've had to adjust to. 

I think we've seen changes to crime patterns. That's probably the good news amid the challenges. Various crime types have gone down fairly substantially in the city — mostly property crime, certainly, and even some of our violent crime. 

But I think as we've gone on in the pandemic, and returned to some levels of normalcy between waves, we've seen some return to normal patterns in terms of traffic, and now we're seeing increases in numbers of impaired drivers and increases in numbers of serious collisions, particularly involving pedestrians.

And so it's very important that the police service continue to monitor and use data to be on top of what's happening.

Q: There's been a lot of talk lately about policing and what it should look like, and people calling police racist. You've said you were going to stop apologizing for being the police moving forward. What do you mean by that?

A: Trying to make sure that we're standing up for our people. I mean, our people came into policing to be police officers. And I know that some people would like us to be social workers, and would like us to be able to deliver other kinds of services, but the reality of it is, we're the police and we have a specific role to play.

I think I've been very open and and welcoming to the idea that we can look at changes to the crisis response models — so that other agencies and other professions that are available to respond to situations there where there isn't an element of danger. I'm completely open to that.

But you know, we have been open to these types of conversations, yet we continue to be criticized. And I think at some point, we just have to say, 'You know what, we still have to be the police here, and we still have to create an environment where folks can be proud of the work that they do.'

Because they do excellent work, and they should be proud.

Q: Do you think you have a cooperating partner at City Hall?

A: I think anytime you see an election year, and in particular, an election where you see as big a changeover on a municipal council as we've seen here, there's going to be growing pains.

And I think there's going to be a period of time where you have to get to know one another, and understand priorities and how to communicate.

And so, even though it might have been a bit rocky on a couple of [things] here with City Hall, I'm not concerned at all. I know that council is very committed to delivering good services and good governance to Calgarians. And we're part of that, and I think that we're aligned on the majority of things and we'll be able to work together just fine.

Q: A former member of your hate crimes unit compared the city's vaccination policy to the Holocaust. That clip went viral online last month. How damaging is something like that to the reputation of the police service?

A: I think it's really damaging in the sense that the individual who's expressing his own views — and not the views of the Calgary Police Service — is out there saying these sorts of things that are that are ridiculous, frankly.

But I do think that the public realizes that it's inappropriate as it is to be making videos like that from the front seat of a police car in full uniform — that's a bit of a power play — and that's an individual who is advancing his own ideas.

At the end of the day, it forces us to connect with the community and just make sure they're feeling supported and that they understand that the Calgary Police Service is still here for them.

And I can tell you that as of today, that individual is no longer employed by the Calgary Police Service.

Q: Looking back, do you ever have a moment where you regret taking on the job?

A: No. I think leadership during a pandemic has been tough, regardless of where you do it.

I think the world of our organization, our members and our community, and so I wouldn't change a thing.