Calgary police say they have removed an encampment from an industrial area in the city’s southeast following several reports of serious criminal offences and a large amount of garbage within the encampment.
The encampment was located in the Starfield Industrial Area located west of Stoney Trail Southeast and south of 50th Avenue Southeast.
Sgt. Trent Barker Peterson said the encampment was “surprisingly large.”
“They were very well hidden. From speaking with them, they had been there almost a year, and we were largely unaware of their presence there until these disturbance and weapons calls started coming in,” he said.
Police say the operation began late last year after they received complaints of people being threatened with hammers, axes and guns and culminated in several people being arrested in late February of this year on outstanding warrants.
Police say the encampment included a large structure made of plywood with a plastic roof and a bridge over a nearby creek connecting to another encampment, where a large amount of sports equipment, bedding, clothing and furniture were found.
The cleanup crew also brought in heavy equipment, including six construction dumpsters, to remove a large amount of garbage, some of which had been dumped into Forest Lawn Creek.
Police say they first warned camp residents in January that they had 30 days to pack up their belongings, clean up the area and leave the encampment. They were also provided with information on other options for shelter and support.
However, police say when officers returned several weeks later the residents hadn’t conducted any cleanup and indicated they had no intention to leave.
“Unfortunately, all but one declined. One occupant did consent for us to refer her to the Action Table Category, which provides social resources to individuals that may be in need of them,” Peterson said.
Four people – one woman and three men all in their 30s – face a variety of charges including arson, failure to register with a sex offender registry, driving while unauthorized, failure to appear, causing damage to public land and occupying public land without authorization.
Alpha House said since the encampment was dismantled, three of those individuals who were charged are getting assistance.
“They are working with our housing program right now. And then there is an individual that’s working with us around their birth certificate and some subsidized rent income so that they can eventually move into housing themselves,” Shaundra Bruvall with Alpha House said. “So we did really provide a really nice warm handoff into immediate, long-term solutions for those individuals.”
The cost of the cleanup so far is estimated at $16,000 and is expected to increase when crews return in the spring to remove the rest of the garbage.
–with files from Adam Toy, Global News