Edmonton city council backs more police patrols around transit

Edmonton city councillors support more police and peace officers patrolling the city's public transit system in a bid to curb crime and social disorder, as the province announces money for Edmonton to hire 50 new officers next year.

At an update on the city's transit safety plan Tuesday, councillors heard police have designated three teams of six constables and one sergeant — a total of 21 officers to LRT stations.

The Transit Community Safety Teams (TRACS) started this past June and police say the number of officers will grow next fall.

The city now has 93 transit peace officers (TPO) trained and patrolling stations, up from 50 two years ago.

Crime severity has gone down 4.3 per cent in the third quarter this year compared to the same period in 2022, police say.

"It seems we're doing the right things and we're headed in the right direction," Coun. Anne Stevenson said during the meeting. "It's hard, I want us to be farther and faster all the time."

The update on the city's transit safety plan comes a few weeks after two violent assaults at the LRT Coliseum.

On Nov. 12, a 58-year-old man was randomly assaulted on a bus by another man and on Nov. 26, two 12-year-old girls assaulted a woman in her 50s.

"I think we could have the most perfect safety transit system in the world and without some of the external factors being addressed, that those are hard to prevent," Stevenson said.

Duane Hunter, director of transit safety, said reported non-criminal incidents have gone up slightly from last year, including nuisance, disorder, littering, graffiti and medical incidents.

More people are taking transit: ridership is up 18 per cent in October this year compared to the same month last year, he added.

Disorder issues

Coun. Tim Cartmell said he's getting constant feedback on the drug and social disorder issues, including from one of his staff members who took the LRT from South Campus to downtown Tuesday morning.

When she got off at Churchill station, Cartmell told council that she had to push her way off the train past people who were clearly under the influence of drugs.

"So she's scared, I gotta find a way to get her home at the end of the day, and she's not riding that train today, and I'm not going to ask her to," Cartmell said.

"Effectively we're asking people to just keep taking the hits, keep using the system, keep taking that risk, because eventually, it will get better."

50 new officers

On the same day that council discussed safety steps, the Alberta government committed to $8.3 million in funding to recruit, train and pay 50 new Edmonton police officers.

The new hires will be deployed to high-crime areas such as downtown and at transit stations.

Mike Ellis, Alberta's minister of public safety and emergency services, said the money fulfils a promise made by the UCP in April to fund 100 new officers in Edmonton and Calgary.

"This is meant to be predictable, sustainable funding," Ellis said at a news conference Tuesday. "We are committed to this on a go-forward basis for both Calgary and Edmonton."

The funding includes $4.5 million for salaries, $2.5 million for vehicles, uniforms, radios and work stations, $850,000 for ongoing technology costs and $500,000 for a one-time expansion of recruitment efforts.

"Now the cheque has been actually delivered," Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee said. "The reality is as we made, obviously, plans based on promises, now …we can purchase equipment and we could do some things quicker."

'The sooner we get it, the better'

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he's pleased the province is following through with the commitment it made earlier this year, but he's worried about the time it will take to get officers trained.

"We need more police presence on LRT platforms, on LRT stations and on buses and trains," Sohi said. "The sooner we get it, the better."

With the funding, it will take time to hire and train officers, police told council.

"I'm glad we will get some but we have to wait until November 2024, for me, that's a concern," Sohi said.

City manager Andre Corbould said that more investment in mental health and addictions would have more impact in addressing the issues.

"Failing that, I think the more presence whether it's police or TPOs, that has a significant impact, that has really helped us to get where we've got."