The Calgary Police Service (CPS) has reshuffled its district boundaries to address an increase in calls for service, which steadily increased in recent years and surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2025.

On April 1, after CPS presented its annual report to the city council at the Community Development Committee meeting, Chief Katie McLellan said during question period that the district boundaries would be changing and that this had been in the works for a while. 

“When we looked at the amount of officers that we have and the requests for call load, they really needed to go back to what they were many, many years ago,” said McLellan.

Effective March 30, the Chinook Centre, Chinook LRT station, and Manchester industrial area have been moved from district one to district six. A portion of the southwest’s district four — including Eastfield and Valleyfield — has also been moved to district six.

“This realignment is intended to better balance CPS resources and improve operational efficiency,” read an email statement from CPS.

“This adjustment aligns district boundaries with how officers were already responding to calls operationally.”

Of the eight existing boundary districts, excluding the Westwinds headquarters in the northeast, CPS said that officers from District 6 were frequently requested to support calls for service in those areas, and that the shift intends to match existing volume.

Calls for service hit a high last year, report shows

According to the CPS’s annual statistical crime report, the overall demand for police has passed pre-2020 levels. Compared to 2024, the total calls for service increased by five per cent in 2025, and by six per cent compared to the five-year average.

Despite officer-generated calls — used to intervene and prevent incidents from occurring — often offsetting public-generated ones, calls from residents still accounted for the majority, at 63 per cent of all requests.

Calls for service communicate a variety of situations, including incidents of violence and assault, which have been on the rise since 2022. The districts that were recently reshuffled — districts one and four — and district five accounted for approximately 50 per cent of all assaults last year.

The report named the Beltline, Downtown Core, Forest Lawn, and Saddleridge neighbourhoods as being included in the districts that saw high numbers of assaults. During questions at city council, McLellan was asked whether the CPS is considering a downtown station. 

She explained that the CPS used to have pop-up and satellite stations, but that they had to give them up for financial reasons. Today, McLellan said that they currently lease and own a combined 41 buildings across the city, and that eight of these manifest as district stations. 

“We get asked this often, and you’ve heard me say that we serve all of you, and if it’s something that [the] council wants and wants us to embrace and endorse, then of course we are at the table with you,” she responded.

Ahead of the realignment, patrol and Community Resource Officers have been and will continue to engage with businesses and community associations who have new district connections, “to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of service,” read an email statement from CPS.

“Boundary changes are not new for Calgary and can occur as part of our continued review process and commitment to service delivery and efficiency.”

While the boundary changes are underway, the CPS acknowledged that some communities now fall into a different district and reiterated that residents can report a crime at any district office, which they can also do online.