Calgary Police Service Public Affairs History Preserved

In 2013, YouthLink Calgary the Police Interpretive Centre created an archival fonds of historical public affairs documents from the Calgary Police Service for the period dating from 1907 to 1995. An archival fonds is an organic collection of documents which has been naturally accumulated as a byproduct of the business or day-to-day activities of an organization. Documents in the fonds include both internal and external correspondence, Service publications (including annual reports, newsletters, etc.), Chief’s Messages, Citizen’s Awards, media releases, brochures, multimedia productions and photographs.

This project was supported by a grant from the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation through the Archives Society of Alberta.

The CPS Public Affairs/Media Relations Unit is responsible for all internal and external communications for the Service. It is also responsible for issuing press releases, acting as a liaison with reporters, coordinating press conferences and public relations events, and leading media-related courses for Calgary Police Service employees.

Although some of the files in this fonds are restricted due to the sensitivity of the information, many of these records are accessible to members of the public who are interested in researching the history of various criminal activities in Calgary, the history of media relations between the citizens of Calgary and the police service, crime trends and the role the media has played in influencing the release of information to the general public.

This fonds is available on the ANA (Archives Network of Alberta) database and is a RAD (Rules for Archival Description)-compliant finding aid.