A University of Calgary alumnus is taking on Calgary’s criminals.
Lloyd Robertson replaced outgoing veteran crown criminal prosecutor Gordon Wong on Nov. 3 to become Calgary’s interim chief Crown prosecutor. In his new position, Robertson will lead a team of 85 lawyers as they tackle the greatest challenges facing Calgary’s justice system.
“There’s really been rapid growth in the population of Calgary,” said Robertson. “There’s a lot of money in this city and with that money comes a lot of trouble.”
Robertson linked many of Calgary’s current troubles to the growing drug culture within the city. Fixing the problem, however, is not as simple as putting more police officers on the streets. Attention must also be paid to social problems, he said.
“We all have a responsibility to bear,” he said. “The role my office plays is in the prosecution of everything from shoplifting to murder. We have to be diligent in . . . showing Calgarians that the prosecution of these offences is in good hands.”
In the years following his 1991 graduation from the U of C’s law school, Robertson has been actively working as a Crown prosecutor.
He also indicated that with his 15 years of case experience, his strong rapport with community groups and the Calgary police will be advantages in his new role.
“I’m very interested in speaking with people,” he said. “The prosecutors in my office that I supervise, all of the stakeholders that are out there and the general public. One of our key partners is obviously the police and I’m looking to expand upon that relationship.”
To Robertson, who completed an arts degree at the University of Alberta in 1988, attending the U of C was his first choice. Despite its less than ideal location in the top floor of the biological sciences building at the time of his enrolment, Robertson was attracted to the university’s unique law program.
“Calgary was my first choice because they had an interesting program that featured a practical approach to law,” Robertson explained. “This meant that you ended up getting experience in your third year by doing a practicum.”
While his interest in criminal law may date as far back as his high school years, Robertson was also quick to credit several U of C law professors with training him to become a prosecutor.
“I feel that from these people, I really learned how to think strategically and on my feet,” he said. “[They] prepared me in a way that I don’t think I could have gotten anywhere else.”