Downtown Crime

[Aaron_Lloyd]

One of the few things I like about Janz so far. He seems to understand how the excessive noise from selfish dummies drives people out of the city, I hope the rest of the council eventually gets the message but I'm skeptical.

In the meantime I'd strongly recommend anyone who's experiencing obnoxious motorcyclists to regularly report it to EPS so that it at least feeds into their statistics about how bad the situation is. The email is trafficcomplaints@edmontonpolice.ca

 

[northlands]

Not to sound like an angry old man, but the recent big trend in cars purposely backfiring is getting pretty tiresome as well. I hear it constantly just here on 98th ave in Cloverdale, can’t imagine how bad it is on Jasper or 109th (or the Leg tunnel).

 

[IanO]

National news!

A night in downtown Edmonton — Oilers mania, transit violence, and an opioid crisis in plain sight

Crime and disorder have become a dilemma for residents, people experiencing homelessness, and this city’s leaders, who are trying to come up with a strategy.

www.thestar.com

 

[_urbanite]

^ from the news story

"When we were staying at the Spectrum there was this dead body that was in there for two f------ months that we were smelling"

"“it did look like they were there for some time.” The medical examiner later determined the body had been there for three weeks"


I'm speechless. This is absolutely sickening.

 

[itom987]

Someone should have lost their job over that.

 

[IanO]

Walking around this weekend I'd say 50% of these have been altered in one way or another. That said, I am told they are repaired quickly.

 

[Greenspace]

^If reported to 311, they are fixed fairly quickly.

 

[TAS]

Police will ramp up Downtown patrols as city council hears calls to make Edmonton safer

Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee said there will be downtown patrol officers. Speakers called on city council to increase safety on Monday.

edmontonjournal.com

Police Chief Dale McFee hopes to increase patrols Downtown within the next month or so after multiple public speakers on Monday called on leaders at city hall to make Edmonton safer.

Currently, police have 21 officers on the Downtown beat. In 2018, there were about 40, McFee said.

Hard to believe given the issues we have dt, EPS wasn't allocating more of its resources to this area.

 

[IanO]

They switched to a data driven quadrant response system/reaction squad that was dreamed up by some bloke who read too many AI books and forgot about everyday old school policing. Actually.

Currently, police have 21 officers on the Downtown beat. In 2018, there were about 40, McFee said.*

*Keep in mind that in this case that patrol area is NE Downtown only and does not go west of 104st or south of Jasper.

When Rogers opened we had most of Downtown covered with Beats and there were ~66 officers on multiple shifts; but it was all quietly rolled back even though they had received additional funding.

I have to think part of this was politically driven and a reaction to defunding, but it blows me away how poorly it was all handled.

 

[ChazYEG]

Police will ramp up Downtown patrols as city council hears calls to make Edmonton safer

Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee said there will be downtown patrol officers. Speakers called on city council to increase safety on Monday.

edmontonjournal.com

Police Chief Dale McFee hopes to increase patrols Downtown within the next month or so after multiple public speakers on Monday called on leaders at city hall to make Edmonton safer.

Currently, police have 21 officers on the Downtown beat. In 2018, there were about 40, McFee said.

Hard to believe given the issues we have dt, EPS wasn't allocating more of its resources to this area.

21? You sure he didn't say 2.1?

I've never seen a single beat cops patrolling.

 

[northlands]

I have to think part of this was politically driven and a reaction to defunding, but it blows me away how poorly it was all handled.

Combined with EPS openly refusing to police the LRT out of spite and it’s a disturbing trend emerging.

 

[Greenspace]

Also, McFee said yesterday they have 279 employees either on leave or disability. That's mindblowing.

19.1% of calls to EPS are from 'Downtown' however I think that's not a very good metric, as I'm convinced the majority of issues are not reported. That would be like saying Terwilliger Towne is the same as Downtown because the incidents people face Downtown are unreported.

DECL is part of a coalition of stakeholders Downtown that is actively pushing for an immediate plan to address safety in the next 90-120 days, which includes increased EPS foot patrols. A lot of the potential solutions in the new Well-Being Strategy will take a year or so to be implemented.

 

[Greenspace]

^ *190 of those on leave/disability are sworn officers.

 

[archited]

From the National Post...
“I don’t think that the people I represent want to see our fellow humans prosecuted because they’re dealing with a health or mental health or an addiction crisis or both. ... But at the same time, I think people are looking for a bit of a layer of accountability that says you don’t urinate or defecate or vomit ... in public spaces.” — Edmonton Coun. Tim Cartmell, speaking after a city council meeting around how to make the city's downtown safer. Police will put more resources into the downtown beat, and money clawed back from the police budget may go towards other community services, the Edmonton Journal reported.

 

[CplKlinger]

Combined with EPS openly refusing to police the LRT out of spite and it’s a disturbing trend emerging.

It's the largest line in the budget, and the "defund" movement led to a measly increase of "just" $1 million for them. Can you imagine if ETS threw a hissy fit like this over its budget being stagnant for 20 years? Heck, imagine if voters stood up for ETS funding like they tend to for EPS funding. Why is it that so many people argue that "if we faced layoffs/cuts, the public sector shouldn't be different", but then when EPS sabatoges public safety in order to recieve more funding, those same people blame the city for bot burying EPS in more cash?

Now, I'm not saying whether or not their funding is adequate. But I will say that it's atrocious what they're allowed to get away with in order to try and secure more funding.