Kent’s Plan: Create Safe Communities for Everyone
Highlights
- Increase visible presence of police and peace officers, integrated with professional community support teams, in our neighbourhood and on our LRT lines.
- Form a community task force that pairs experts in policing, emergency services, and housing and social services to develope a real plan for public safety that builds on solutions such as co-op housing
and the Fair Entry Program for lower income Calgarians.
- Use a housing first strategy to get people off the streets and into support services. With a housing first approach, we’re not only doing the right thing, we’re also doing the one thing proven to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in public healthcare, justice, and emergency services.
Kent was born in Ward 8 and has rolled the neighbourhoods for years. He’s seen an upward trend of homelessness, mental health and addiction issues, and social disorder. You’ve seen it too.
These challenges impact our quality of life and the vibrancy of our city. Real change to address the issues on our streets is urgently needed. How we address issues will say a lot about who we are as Calgarians.
Simply put, we can’t arrest our way out of homelessness, but we can make things better. Policing is part, but not all, of the solution. Despite city council upping the police budget and putting more police officers
on our streets, public safety concerns remain paramount.
We can’t keep going the way we’re going. City council must make public safety a priority. Kent has the drive and the experience to make this change, with his leadership in Ward 8, we can build a city where everyone feels safe.
Kent’s community safety plan goes beyond traditional enforcement by focusing on compassionate, coordinated responses to social disorder while upholding public safety standards. Kent’s plan positions policing as a pivotal element in a robust, interconnected support ecosystem—where social order and individual dignity go hand in hand. This plan is grounded in evidence that prevention, outreach, and social integration, combined with targeted enforcement, yield far better outcomes for both community safety and civic trust.
Integrated Response Pipeline
- Kent knows policing is not an isolated solution but is part of a collaborative system linking street-level engagement directly to housing and support services.
- Kent’s plan leverages a multidisciplinary approach: police, peace officers, and outreach professionals working together to ensure vulnerable individuals are offered both immediate assistance and pathways to wrap-around support, rather than being pushed repeatedly through the justice system.
- Kent recognizes the Safer Calgary program as a model, blending social referrals with enforcement where necessary, always with the goal of stabilizing affected individuals and reducing their contact with law enforcement over the long term.
Minimum Standards and Urban Safety
- Kent will push for clear expectations for safety and order in the inner city, addressing concerns of residents and businesses while prioritizing dignity and rights for vulnerable populations.
- Tactics to ensure standards are maintained will include integrated foot patrols that are visible, accessible, and connected to social service networks, resulting in faster intervention, de-escalation, and fewer repeat incidents.
- Safety is part of Kent’s transit plan as well, with the implementation of fare gates that, in addition to promoting fair access and improve Calgary Transit’s bottomline, will prevent transit spaces from becoming informal shelters.
Emphasis on Prevention and Support
- Kent rejects chronic punitive cycles and seeks to address the causes of social disorder, such as inadequate housing, mental health support, and income insecurity, to build stronger, safer communities
Kent will convene a community safety task force with a mandate to holistically address public safety by integrating evidence-based approaches. This multidisciplinary group – made up of police, fire, EMS, housing/social services experts, education representatives, Indigenous voices, academia, and community leaders – will draw up a workplan, liaise with respective agencies, hold regular meetings, and ensure transparent stakeholder engagement.
As a group, the task force will focus on a real plan for community safety including:
- Integrated Prevention and Intervention
- Review and enhance current prevention programs related to homelessness, addiction, and social disorder, drawing on best practices locally and from other jurisdictions.
- Strengthen collaborative networks between police, emergency services, outreach teams, and housing/social services to ensure coordinated responses and seamless support pipelines.
- Promote referrals to housing, mental health, and addiction supports rather than relying solely on punitive measures.
- Community-Driven Solutions
- Actively engage community members, local leaders, and stakeholders to identify strengths, challenges, and gaps in existing public safety response, ensuring all voices—not just service providers—shape solutions.
- Hold public consultations and receive community and academic input to inform recommendations and foster collaboration.
- Evidence-Based Recommendations
- Analyze data and report on the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of approaches such as Housing First, hybrid outreach programs, and affordable housing initiatives.
- Identify opportunities for further integration of public safety, emergency services, and social supports, emphasizing pragmatic standards for order and compassionate security.
- Advisory Role to Policy Makers
- Present actionable, prevention-focused recommendations to city council and other relevant bodies, advising on policy, funding priorities, and coordination of provincial-city efforts.
- Advocate for adequate provincial funding and municipal investment in upstream supports like affordable housing, outreach, and preventative programs.
This task force will provide Calgarians with a comprehensive, community-based, and collaborative framework for tackling public safety challenges, emphasizing prevention, support, and broad stakeholder engagement over reactive measures
With a focus on Housing First, Kent will immediately prioritize permanent, affordable housing and individualized, voluntary wrap-around supports for people experiencing homelessness, including comprehensive case management and seamless system integration. Grounded in dignity, choice, and the right to safe housing, a made-in-Calgary Housing First approach will remove preconditions for support and offer rapid, low-barrier access to homes.
Housing First is a proven approach that delivers lasting social and fiscal returns: studies show every dollar spent on Housing First can yield up to $2.84 in public service savings, with long-term reductions in health, justice, and emergency costs.
Critically, Kent’s made-in-Calgary Housing First plan will integrate collaborative partnerships, leverage community expertise, and maintain accountability through ongoing evaluation and feedback.
By focusing on Housing First, we will address the root causes of social disorder with effective, evidence-based solutions that provide affordable homes and along with accessible supports essential for lasting community stability, safety, and well-being.