Safety concerns among reasons for new Calgary police gun range, chief says

A new indoor shooting range is in the works for the Calgary Police Service. 

On Friday, council approved a city budget in which CPS asked for a boost of $34 million — along with an additional $77 million for capital projects that include a new $10-million gun range.

There are limitations to the current facility due to a number of factors, including excessive noise, the size of the range and health and safety concerns, according to Chief Const. Mark Neufeld.

Because of poor ventilation in the current facility, there is a concern that there could be an over-exposure of lead from the firearms. 

"We've got a responsibility to provide a safe workspace for our trainers and the folks that are using it," he said. "We can do some juggling by using different trainers and that sort of thing but logistically, it becomes hard to do."

The current range, which was built in 2003, has become too small for the service that has seen an increase of nearly 30 per cent since that time. 

It can accommodate 12 officers at a time, something Neufeld says is limiting in terms of the service's ability to expand class sizes. 

"There are provincial standards around training our officers and making sure they're proficient in the use of firearms," Neufeld said.

"Hopefully, as again I said, we don't have to use them. But the reality of it is they may."

The new range will have 18 shooting bays and will be built next to the existing one.

With the city looking to add more police officers on Calgary's streets, Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong said the facility will help that objective while addressing the crime concerns that Calgarians have.

"The police department has come forward with a significant operating and capital budget request, and that is to address both the growth and the size of the city … but also to address the criminal and traffic issue concerns that we've been facing since the beginning of COVID," said Wong.

"If this facility allows them to expedite the training of both new police officers as well as the retraining of existing police officers and get them back on the street and using their firearms effectively, then yes, it is the way to go."

There are currently no details on when the facility will be built or be operational.