For Your City Mike McCourt
For Metro Calgary Neil MacKinnon

Mayor Dave Bronconnier's pleads for more cop cash to battle Calgary's escalating gang violence fell on deaf provincial ears.

After a nearly two-hour meeting Thursday and a 45-minute presentation by Calgary's Police Service and chief Rick Hanson, premier Ed Stelmach rejected the mayor's proposal for an extra $100 million and 500 more officers provincially.

Stelmach also turned down Bronconnier's challenge to match the $25 million and 201 new officers over the next three years he will ask council for Sept. 8.

"It's somewhat disappointing," Bronconnier said. "I think given the amount of dollars that we're talking about, I mean it was only two days ago when an $8.5 billion surplus forecast was tabled with the province, I think to ask for $100 million, 500 officers province-wide is not that expensive in the context of a $46 billion budget."

Stelmach, though, said the province's April commitment of 100 new officers for Calgary along with an increase in the ranks of prosecutors, judges and added treatment facilities should be enough to deal with the problems that are currently plaguing the province.

"More police officers are a component of the overall, very complex issue dealing with gang violence," Stelmach says.

Alberta Justice Minister Alison Redford said the meeting was part of an ongoing dialogue between the province and municipalities and shouldn't be viewed as a policy definition point.