Calgary police have a better understanding of how and for what purpose guns go on city streets, but still don’t know where more than half of them come from.
This search came from a pilot project launched in 2020, in which a police investigative unit began collecting data on criminal firearms in Calgary, identified by authorities as being used, stored or possessed illegally. . .
Thus, by 2021, 53% of these weapons will have no specific origin.
In Calgary, since the beginning of the year, police have recorded 58 shootings and discovered more than 168 criminal guns, compared to 276 guns in the same time last year.
However, according to Acting Staff Sergeant Ben Lawson, the situation appears to have improved compared to 2020, because only in May did police seize 72 guns in one case. .
That’s the problem with short -term numbers, he explains. Because the survey unit is only two years of data, trends are still evolving.
Ben Lawson said that so far, police are learning more about the illegal gun trade scene in Calgary.
Multi-pronged approach
According to Kelly Sundberg, an associate professor at Mount Royal University, all three levels of government should have a role to play in addressing gun violence in Calgary.
He said the frustrations and complications expressed by the public are often directed at the police, where the problem stems from the lack of resources and investment in the criminal justice system as a whole.
On a national scale […] there is a need to examine the role of Canadian border services in reducing gun violence in [le] country He added.
According to the Canada Border Services Agency, 955 guns were confiscated at the border in 2021-2022. Before the pandemic, in 2018-2019, there were 696.
According to Kelly Sundberg, in Calgary and across Canada, the public is one of the best sources of police information, but there is a lack of trust in the police.
Without the help of the public, the police are at a serious disadvantage in their ability to take effective action.said Sundberg.
Source: Radio-Canada
