Visitors to the Calgary Stampede this year can and should expect to see increased levels of security at Stampede Park, especially during peak hours of the 10-day festival.
During their annual safety message event held on July 3, Stampede officials said that the increased security for this year wasn’t due to any incidents from the previous year, but a desire to make the grounds safer for visitors.
“These three focus areas, increased security searches, creating more room to roam, and increased policing are core elements of the robust safety and security plan we have at the Calgary Stampede,” said Kerrie Blizard, Director of Public Safety and Environment at the Calgary Stampede.
“This plan is intended to create a safe space where the only worry guests have is which fun thing to do next we cannot wait for guests to experience everything Calgary Stampede 2024 has to offer.”
Guests can expect to be searched at the entrances to the Stampede, including bag and metal detector searches, but in turn, there will be increased numbers of search lanes to keep things moving for visitors, Blizard said.
“We rely on the public to help us keep the lines moving quickly by coming prepared for these searches. A simple rule of thumb: if you wouldn’t bring something onto an airplane, please don’t bring it to Stampede. This includes alcoholic beverages, pocket knives, weapons pepper, bear sprays, etc,” she said.
Calgary Police Inspector JF Dery, incident commander for the temporary Stampede police district, said that the service has planned for the potential for over a million visitors to be in the park over 10 days, and for the more than 300,000 people that are likely to attend the parade.
“As in previous years, we will have highly visible police presence at the Stampede Parade and also on Stampede Park. We bring police officers from across Calgary, and we’re very close with our partners in Calgary Stampede, The City of Calgary, and also with neighbouring police agencies… all this to ensure that we can handle any situation that arises,”
The message to Calgarians this year was if you see something, say something, said Insp. Dery.
“Listen to your gut watch for unusual situations or items and notice if there’s someone acting normally. Basically if you see something, say something. If you’re down on the grounds, you can report any suspicious behaviour to any Stampede security or to police officers on the grounds,” he said.
Police ready if protesters attempt to disrupt Stampede
He said on the possibility of protesters working to disrupt the Stampede this year, in light of other jurisdictions seeing events disrupted as a result of protests, that CPS remains in contact with protest organizers.
“We have protests on a weekly basis,and we do communicate with those groups. We’re here to police behaviours not beliefs, and so with our engagement with them, our good relationships… and the work that we’ve already done, I think that it’ll set us up for a good Stampede.”
Insp. Dery said they were also ready to deal with any other type of social disorder that may occur on the grounds or near the Stampede.
“Obviously, we’re ready for any situation. With any big, large events or any festival type, the heat and the consumption of alcohol don’t go well, and we’ve got a lot of good education on that on our websites about what to do,” he said.
“We’re asking people to plan ahead, plan for rides [from the park]. The staff here on the park and the police officers are well trained, and we have our partners in AHS to help people if they’re in distress.”
Deputy Chief of Public Vehicle Standards for the City of Calgary, Cory Porter, said that the city recognized the role that Calgary Transit has in getting visitors to and from Stampede Park, and as a result, will be stepping up security for Calgary Transit during the 10 days.
“We’ve hired extra security guards and enhanced our partnership with our friends from the Calgary Police Service, and also added additional peace officers to our enforcement team. We’ll have officers stationed at Erlton LRT station and Victoria Park / Stampede. If you see anything that causes concern, please alert us via transit text line as 74100, and if it is an emergency, please contact 911,” Porter said.
He said that the city has also created designated pickup and drop-off points for taxis, limos, and rideshare vehicles along with designated late-night ride home stands in the downtown.