Safety in Edmonton (May 2023)
Last month, I wrote a post about transit safety. One of the messages I was trying to highlight was that even if safety on our transit system was just an issue of perception, which it isn’t, that we need to take that very seriously. Based on some of the feedback, I think some people felt that I didn’t clearly articulate the point that it wasn’t just a perception issue.
Therefore, I want to start this post by clearly stating there are serious safety issues that need to be addressed.
A few weeks ago, we heard that violent crime in 2022 was at its highest level in our city. Although overall crime is not at the highest point, in fact, other crimes have gone down in the last year, we need to recognize that a rise in violent crime needs a serious response.
Over the last few months, I felt that while I knew that EPS and City staff were taking this seriously, I don’t think there was good communication with Edmontonians to talk about what actions are being taken to ensure the safety and well-being of all Edmontonians. On Monday, May 1st, we received a report at our Community and Public Services Committee meeting which detailed how Edmonton Police Service and City of Edmonton staff are working together to address safety and security on our transit system and in the core.
At this meeting, I asked if EPS and the City of Edmonton can create a shorter video that summarizes the two and a half hour discussion that we had and although we don’t have that yet, I want to share the link to the full meeting so you can watch or listen to it in full. I know a two and a half hour meeting is a lot to listen to but it was the first time in months where I felt that the information being shared showed how seriously we are taking the safety and security of Edmontonians. I would highly encourage you to take the time to listen to it if you are someone that has concerns about safety and security. You can access that meeting here. Please note that you can treat it as a podcast and just listen to it.
I want to highlight some of the actions we have taken to help address safety and security. The following list comes from Mayor Sohi’s blog in April which you can read here:
In 2022, Council approved the Transit Safety Plan, as well as presented the Government of Alberta with the Downtown Core and Transit System Safety Plan, and we added an additional $13.5 million to transit safety resources through budget 2023.
The City has hired a Director of Transit Safety to lead this work. They are bringing people and skills together.
We have also hired an additional transit security dispatcher to support the Transit Watch program and oversee the surveillance cameras in use across the system.
We continue to increase the presence of security, peace officers, and community outreach workers as well. This work is ensuring that we have the right people in the right place at the right time. We have added more Transit Peace Officers and are currently recruiting more.
We will have over 110 staff members within our Transit Peace Officer teams by this fall, including frontline officers, sergeants and management. This is nearly 20% growth and seeing 20 more Transit Peace Officers in transit spaces.
Other supports, like the Community Outreach Transit Team — a partnership between the City and Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, have doubled over the same period. These teams are made up of 1 Transit Peace Officer and 1 social outreach worker.
Ongoing, sustainable funding was approved for the Community Outreach Transit Team with five teams currently operational, and once fully staffed, COTT will have seven teams.
We have also invested in safety in the core of the city, including $15.2 million for the Healthy Streets Operations Centre which will bring 48 new constables and 6 new sergeants to Chinatown, as well as 4 Peace Officer Sergeants and 14 Community Peace Officers.
In 2023, the EPS budget has increased by an additional $7 million.
We have also increased the hours of service for security guards in some of our locations, and mobile drug poisoning prevention teams have been engaged for LRT stations through a community health partnership.
Beyond this, the provincial government is returning the policing funding that they previously reduced a few years ago to help hire 50 new Edmonton Police Officers who will be focused on transit safety and security. This is in addition to the 18 officers who have already been deployed to focus on transit safety and security.
The following images are from the 2022 EPS Annual Report:
As you can see, 2022 definitely saw an increase in crime from 2021 but I think it is worth highlighting that when looking at total crime rate, crime severity, and criminal incidents, we are still seeing good results when compared to the peak in 2018. That’s encouraging that much of the great work that started a few years ago has not been undone but there must be a continued focus on that work.
As mentioned at the beginning, and as you can see in the violent crime rate chart, that is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed. We know one of the challenges that EPS faces is with repeat violent offenders being allowed back out on the streets through our bail system. While this is federal jurisdiction, it’s having a serious impact when it comes to safety across the country.
From the 2022 EPS Annual Report:
Between 2017 and 2019, 1,784 individuals were involved in 12,743 police occurrences after being arrested and released for an initial violent offence.
Between 2020 and 2023, 3,647 individuals were involved in 19,186 police occurrences after being arrested and released for an initial violent offence.
Between 2017 and 2019, the following involvements occurred where an individual who was arrested for a violent offence and then subsequently released was either a suspect, chargeable, or charged:
3 homicides
1,341 assaults
84 obstruct officers or obstruct justice incidents
Between 2020 and 2023, the following involvements occurred where an individual who was arrested for a violent offence and then subsequently released was either a suspect, chargeable, or charged:
26 homicides
2,183 assaults
95 obstruct officers or obstruct justice incidents
It’s quite clear from this information that something needs to change and I understand the federal government is making changes as the current system is making it very difficult for police officers to do their job.
What’s challenging is that even if the bail system is updated to address the issue above and even if the additional enforcement officers can address those serious incidents, we still have some challenges that need a different solution set. There are people who seek shelter in our transit centres who aren’t causing issues but are struggling and need significant support. I won’t repost my blog from May 6th in this blog but you can read it here because the work identified in that post would go a long way in ensuring all aspects of community safety and well-being are addressed in Edmonton.
I think that for some time, many Edmontonians haven’t felt like we were taking safety as seriously as we needed to. As mentioned at the start of this post, the May 1st meeting gave me a lot more confidence in the work that is being done and I hope you can take some time to review that meeting so that you can feel more confident in the actions that are underway.
I’ll also continue to ask City staff and EPS for shorter updates that can be easily shared through social media so that as many people as possible can stay informed about the work everyone is doing. When there is an absence of information, people will start filling in those gaps with anecdotal evidence and that isn’t always the most constructive approach. We need to be regularly communicating the work with you so you know what is happening.
We still have a lot more work to do and council will be getting monthly updates on this work. These updates are public so it will allow all Edmontonians to hear about the work taking place. While some issues are more complex than others, there are immediate actions being taken to increase safety in our city. If you have any questions or feedback once you have taken the time to review the information from May 1st, please let me know.
