Edmonon’s Police chief has called for increased policing as the statistics for Edmonton crime were released yesterday.
Gang related activity is a major concern for the force and there is a need for more officers, according to Dale Mcfee, Edmonton’s Chief of Police.
Edmonton’s crime rate spiked by eight per cent between 2021 and 2022,for a total of 653 additional crimes in one year. The city’s total crime rate increased by five per cent last year.
“While we are pleased that Edmonton crimes are somewhat better than some of our cities across Canada, I want to be very clear that our increasing violent crime rate remains quite alarming,” McFee said at a Monday news conference.
Mcfee added that “randomness attributed to some of the crimes in recent years cannot be ignored. He also pointed out the need for connection between Edmonton’s health care and justice systems.
An increase of 13 per cent in the rate of violent crimes which includes assault Level 1, minor physical injuries, and Level 2, assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm, was seen across the city.
The most offences occurred were theft, robbery, assault Level 1 and fraud between 2021 and 2022, according to the report.
These incidents are often caused by repeat offenders that police deal with on a regular basis, according to Ron Anderson, chief of innovation and technology with the EPS., adding that the violent crime severity remained unchanged from last year.
Non-violent crimes saw an increase of seven percent in 2022. These include property crimes or others that involve theft, and break and enters.
Table 1 – Edmonton’s total crime rate
In the category of firearms, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team along with EPS seized more than 100 3D-printed firearms after many investigations in relation to organised crime.
Extra manpower is being added to handle the problem of firearms in Edmonton, according to the police chief.
In relation to drugs, gang involvement in fentanyl activity saw an alarming spike by 50 percent, which has a direct association with overdoses. He added that the decision to no longer prosecute civil drug possession,which sometimes proves effective, means there are few consequences, can also prove harmful to the public.
“There’s no safe drug. Some of these drugs seen on the streets we’ve never seen before. The reality is, when the gangs are involved, they really don’t care how many people die. I don’t mean to be harsh on that, but the reality is we absolutely need to target those folks,” said McFee.
Table 2 – Edmonton’s total violent crime rate
Edmonton police said the city has experienced a 12 per cent increase in violent crime severity in the first six months of 2023, which are separate numbers to the report.
The force is now focusing on adding personnel and recruiting. Mcfee added that there is a serious need for bail reform and cited that many homicides are connected to repeat offenders , committing up to 50 percent of violent offences in the criminal justice system.
Table 3 – Edmonton’s total crime severity
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