Graduate Khoi Pham told fellow community safety and transit public safety officers that they are not defined by the letters of their names on a document, but by the values they each hold dear.
Pham addressed 10 new transit peace officers and 11 of his fellow community safety peace officers at their Recruit Class 2023-10 graduation ceremony at the Mewata Armoury on Feb. 23, 2024.
This is another graduate class of officers to come out of the city’s $8.7 million public safety investment in 2023 and through $15 million in the 2024 budget.
Pham spoke about the power of unity in being a force for positive change in this role as a community safety peace officer.
“In a world, often marked by division and discord, fostering unity is more crucial than ever,” Pham said.
“It is a testament to our capacity to overcome differences and work towards common goals. Unity doesn’t erase diversity, it celebrates it, recognizing the strength that comes from embracing our unique perspectives and experiences.”
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek congratulated the officers and their families for the work that’s been put in to be a part of creating a safer city. Though it may not always be an easy job to take on, she said.
“What I want you to know today is that the career you have chosen matters. The team that you are joining is making a big difference,” Mayor Gondek said.
“It’s part of a bigger picture and a bigger mission to encourage transit use and to keep Calgarians safe.”
The mayor said that we’re all living in challenging times, and we see it playing out on Calgary’s streets.
“Amidst all of this unrest, however, we are seeing humanity within each other. That leaves me very optimistic,” Mayor Gondek told the graduates.
“Being here with you today as you celebrate the next chapter in your career makes me hopeful for our future. As long as we have good people like you willing to do difficult and rewarding work, we can face any challenge and together we can make a difference in the lives of the people that we collectively serve.”
Future deployment to bolster nighttime coverage
A recent perspectives survey done by the City of Calgary showed that citizens’ perception of safety on Calgary Transit is improving. More people feel safe riding a CTrain or a bus during both the day and night.
Feelings of safe daytime travel, however, are markedly higher than the night. Eighty-two per cent felt safe travelling in the day, while only 39 per cent saying they felt safe riding a CTrain alone at night.
Iain Bushell, director of Emergency Management and Community Safety with the City of Calgary, said that along with the recently approved transit public safety strategy, they’re deploying officers equally between day and night shifts.
“What you will see is more (transit officers) in the evenings and overnight, and then the community standards peace officers work from early in the morning to late at night,” Bushell told LWC.
Bushell said they recognize that work still needs to be done and that there’s a long way to go in restoring Calgarians’ confidence in riding public transit.
“We’ve gone from it’s really bad to now it’s just bad, I suppose. We hope we continue to see improvements,” he said.
Mayor Gondek said that the investment in public safety was much needed and we’re now starting to see the results. She wants it to go beyond just the perception of safety, however.
“The goal is absolutely to make sure that public perception of safety continues to improve,” she said.
“It’s not just perception, we want to make sure the city is, in fact, safer.”
Calgary graduated 30 transit public safety officers back in November 2023. Another recruit class begins training in May, according to Bushell.
