Calgary’s downtown has for years been subjected to bonehead decisions by city council.

Among the looniest is as follows:

The big Victoria Park central police station was closed in 2017.

In 2018, the Sheldon Chumir safe injection site opened.

Alberta Health Services inflicted that site on the city. But city hall was totally unprepared for what happened next.

Crime, disorder and destruction erupted for years because there was no policing plan and little police presence in the crucial time when crime became endemic.

Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features.

There was an error, please provide a valid email address.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Noon News Roundup will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.

Mayor Jeromy Farkas wants a new downtown police station, fully staffed with officers on the street to combat crime.

He promised that in the election campaign. So did his main competitor, Sonya Sharp.

On Monday, Farkas noted that Calgary is the only major city in Canada and the U.S. without police presence in the city centre.

The towers have hollowed out alarmingly in the past decade. Crime did not. The latest police report shows that downtown crime is the city’s highest.

Companies still operating in the core pay big for private security. Farkas says the downtown’s........

© Calgary Herald