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Also, random beating to death of an autobody worker in Chinatown:

edmonton.ctvnews.ca

2 men killed in separate Chinatown attacks, man in custody: EPS

Two men are dead after separate attacks in Chinatown on Wednesday, police said a day later.
edmonton.ctvnews.ca edmonton.ctvnews.ca


This is unbelievable.

There is nothing progressive about allowing public streets and transit to become places of violence, assault and killing.
 
^

that’s “whataboutism” at it’s worst.

i don’t care so much about calgary or about how they respond to things or not.

i do care about our transit system and how our city responds to something or City is responsible for.

inclusion is one thing and worth working hard to achieve.

inclusion by effectively excluding a majority of your population because they justifiably don’t feel safe is a disaster.

our transit system and our downtown are currently management failures on a grand scale.
 
^that they are Ken, that they are and that's incredibly disheartening given the amount of work by many over the last decade or so.
 
Yeah and the other frustrating part is it’s not like this happened overnight. COVID hit the accelerator but we’re into calendar year three of that so not much excuse now and there were plenty of issues prior to March 2020. Our civic leaders and administration literally just watched it all happen before their eyes and did virtually squat all until recently. A fairly colossal failure.
 
https://www.reddit.com/r/Edmonton/comments/utjats

I’m a student at the U of A (I’m originally from Calgary) and I was taking the LRT home a few days ago. This guy came up to me and started talking to me, but I couldn’t really understand him.

He pulled out a knife and asked me to give him my phone. I didn’t know what to do so I saw an opening and ran as fast as I could. The guy chased me but I managed to run faster than him.

I found an ETS security guard and explained to him the situation (a guy with a knife attempted to rob me). He told me that unless he actually stole something from me or hit/stabbed me there’s nothing he could do. He told me he wasn’t allowed to call EPS in this situation and if I called myself EPS wouldn’t do anything either.

I know it’s not as big of a deal as the people who’ve been attacked or killed on the LRT, but I feel like some action should’ve been taken. Threatening someone with a weapon to rob them has to be against the law somehow.

I’m not one to overreact, I get crackheads calling me terrorist or other names or harassing me on there every so often and it doesn’t faze me, but after this incident and the response to it I’m kind of reconsidering taking transit.

Does anyone know what the policies are surrounding when EPS can be involved?

Realistically, had I called EPS at the time would they have done anything?
Click to expand...

Of course this is Reddit, so take it all with a grain of salt, but does a good job of highlighting what a waste the "security" guards at ETS transit locations are.
 

"Project Connection to focus on areas facing increased trends of violence and disorder​

For Immediate Release: 24-May-2022 @ 4:19 PM
MRU #: 22R050 [No text in field]

There has been an increasing trend of violence and disorder within the City of Edmonton, and specifically observed in the areas of Alberta Avenue, Chinatown, Downtown and the Edmonton Transit system.
As such, the Edmonton Police Service is creating a policing strategy, which will focus its efforts on addressing the increased violence, property and disorder-related incidents in these areas, with the goal of increasing community safety.
The geographical focus of "Project Connection" will be:
  • 113 Street to 79 Street along 118 Avenue
  • 100 Avenue encompassing the Downtown Core, Chinatown and Alberta Avenue
  • Edmonton Transit LRT Stations including Stadium LRT Station, Coliseum LRT Station, Central LRT Station, Churchill LRT Station and the adjacent Pedway system
Phase 1 of Project Connection will begin with a high visibility and high saturation of police resources utilizing members from various beats, Crime Suppression and Disruption teams, High Risk Encampment Teams, among others.
The goal of Phase 1 is to increase community safety for community members, businesses and those individuals with vulnerabilities who require additional support. This will be achieved through community engagement of individuals and stakeholders, an increase in proactive location-based policing and an increase in prosocial behavior through education, awareness and enforcement, as needed."

 
Disappointed to not see it go to 99ave or even 97ave in the Downtown core/Oliver for there is a lot of disorder and crime top of bank and on the hillside.

A good start though to get back to a much better situation for all.
 
^^ ^

this is probably a good start but it deals strictly with consequences and not causes.

and when i say this, i'm not talking about those causes that the city doesn't have much control over without provincial and federal monies.

i am, however, talking about how the city conducts its own affairs and operations with no regard to consequential results.

i would love to see a heat map of downtown including the quarters and chinatown that shows every block where access and sight lines have been eliminated for construction or repairs for longer than a week.

i would also love to see that overlaid with a crime statistics heat map.

almost anyone who spends any time downtown can identify other "hot spots" (the north side of jasper between 101 and 102 streets, 101 avenue between 102 and 103 avenue, etc. in adition to "top of bank" stretches). they need to be physically changed or reprogrammed or provided with full time support so that being inclusive doesn't come at the expense of being exclusive to the majority of edmontonians.
 
Council approves Edmonton’s Community Safety & Well-being Strategy​

May 25, 2022

City Council has approved the Community Safety and Well-being (CSWB) Strategy, and is providing $8.7 million in funding for 11 related projects to address immediate needs for the remainder of 2022. Discussions held at City Council highlighted the need for the strategy to encompass immediate actions, while also working towards long-term, transformational system changes to help Edmonton become the safest city in Canada by 2030.

“Our goal is to be the safest city in Canada, and to do that we must continue to take action so that more Edmontonians can live, belong, access, create, preserve and thrive in our city,” said Andre Corbould, City Manager. “By working together with community, we are taking a more connected and coordinated approach to safety and well-being, and creating a model for collaboration, planning, and action that helps determine how we respond to current and emerging issues.“

The plan was informed by City Council’s direction, strategic plans including Connect Edmonton and The City Plan, the Community Safety and Well-Being Task Force, and community conversations with over 80 voices representing diverse organizations. Consisting of a seven pillar framework (anti-racism; reconciliation; safe and inclusive spaces; equitable policies procedures, standards and guidelines; pathways in and out of poverty; crime prevention and crime intervention; and well-being) it covers actions which can be carried out by the City, local partners and with community, and that can achieve outcomes which are incremental (two years or less), moderate (three to four years), and transformational (five years and beyond).

Additional information on 10 project business cases, including a description and intended outcomes can be found in attachment 3 of the CSWB strategy report. With City Council’s approval, these business cases represent several key priority areas to address with funding for the remainder of 2022:

Microgrants for community members to apply and receive funds to help bridge and support the sustainability of existing programs in the community.

An Integrated Call Evaluation and Dispatch Centre to modernize the current call intake process, so that Edmontonians are able to obtain accurate and timely service without having to call a number of different agencies.

Indigenous Framework Implementation through hiring of full-time positions needed to support the implementation of City department action plans, develop evaluation and change management methodologies, and assist in community engagement.

Support for an Indigenous-led Shelter, which requires a project scope and outcomes, a functional program, and a site location analysis; these would inform next steps for design and delivery of the facility, including budget and schedule estimates.

Extreme Weather Protocol implementation of extreme heat activations this summer, including expansion of hydrant and bottled water programs. This also provides time to prepare for the winter season.

Additional program funding to Drug Poisoning Response to fund key activities and responses to the drug poisoning crisis, including supplying NARCAN to peace officers.

Community Safety Peace Officer Training and Professional Standards Centre of Excellence; creating a professional development and standards office; and prioritizing professional standards and public transparency.

Convening with key partners to build a new strategy on Community Wellness for addressing the mental health needs of Edmontonians, eliminating duplication of efforts and helping to better address gaps.

Edmonton Public Library’s (EPL) Sing, Sign, Laugh and Learn Program will receive funding for an additional two positions, which will allow EPL to increase the number of early literacy Sing, Sign, Laugh and Learn classes.

Bridge Healing Centre, launch of a prototype to demonstrate solutions to discharging people into homelessness from the health system. This would provide patients experiencing homelessness with housing and wraparound services.

In addition, Chinatown Funding for the purpose of addressing immediate needs for Chinatown and area.​

Media contact:
Francis Asuncion
Communications Advisor
Communications and Engagement
780-903-2647​
 
In a letter to Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, Minister Shandro outlines concerns around a sharp increase in violent crimes in downtown Edmonton. Edmonton Police Service data shows crime in the city’s core rose by 11 per cent in 2021. Recent attacks at transit stations and high levels of public drug use are also noted as areas of concern.

Under Section 30(1) of the Police Act, Minister Shandro has directed the mayor to take action and provide a public safety plan within two weeks.

“As the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, I have a responsibility under the Police Act to ensure the people of Edmonton receive the law enforcement protection they deserve. Edmontonians should feel safe and secure when using public transit, visiting restaurants, attending events and walking the streets in their own community.”

Tyler Shandro, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General

Quick facts

Violent crime growth in downtown Edmonton:
2020 – 2,382 incidents reported
2021 – 2,665 incidents reported (11 per cent increase)

light rapid transit (LRT) and transit centres crime severity has increased by nearly 60 per cent since 2019
medical incidents on public transit increased 341 per cent

2022 statistics so far:
549 LRT and transit centre disturbances
130 violent incidents
42 weapon complaints

Section 30(1) of the Police Act states: “When, in the opinion of the Minister, a municipality that is responsible for providing and maintaining policing services is not
providing or maintaining adequate and effective policing services, or
complying with this Act or the regulations, the Minister may notify the council of that fact and request the council to take the action the Minister considers necessary to correct the situation.”
 
holy wtf!

i guess as this government’s minister of justice it’s no surprise that anything that’s not perfect is someone else’s fault - something in line with this government’s bully pulpit approach to everything.

as health minister he picked fights with doctors and nurses individually and collectively (and is currently pending a review by the law society as a result of some of his actions).

he was “moved” to labor and immigration and was there for all of four months - accomplishing what exactly? - before replacing another member who displayed equally poor decision making judgement and he’s been in his current role less than three months. despite that lack of previous involvement and understanding of complex issues he’s now lambasting edmonton’s mayor - who has barely had time to settle in himself - for not being able to make up for what is effectively reduced provincial funding to policing in edmonton.

so he apparently thinks that - in isolation and without any outside influence or factors - edmonton is a municipality that is apparently "not providing or maintaining adequate and effective policing services" to such an extent that we are not complying with the police act or regulations and the new sheriff in town thinks it necessary to notify the council of that fact and request our council to take some as yet unspecified action that the minister considers necessary to correct the situation.

there any many things that edmonton could and should do both on its own and collectively and many things that edmonton should stop doing individually and collectively. and that's something that isn't likely to change other than by degree. at this point in time, it's too bad that the single biggest step that could be taken to correct the situation isn't scheduled until may 31, 2023.

edit:

the complete letter is here: https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/e33...o-edmonton-mayor-public-safety-2022-05-26.pdf

seems strange to me that promises to send money in the future are being represented as sufficient commitments and money to have prevented what has been building up since before sohi was even mayor.

every time i think this group has reached a high water mark in poor government and poor management and poor judgement, they prove me wrong.

if this isn't counterproductive grandstanding in front of the asylum, i don't know what is.
 
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