A new campaign has been launched in an effort to reduce crime in neighbourhoods across Edmonton.
The Make the Call initiative aims to make it easy, with a website that clearly says who residents should call in various situations.
Residents of older Edmonton neighbourhoods, like McCauley and Alberta Ave., say they’re frustrated with ongoing issues.
“Makes me want to leave actually. I’ve been here for ten years and I’ve never felt like leaving before,” said one resident.
A resident who asked to remain anonymous, deals with piles of garbage outside his home and says some days he doesn’t even feel safe walking out his door.
“My house was broken into. Actually someone tried to set it on fire and my car has been broken into. Both of them have been broken into multiple times,” he said.
He said earlier in the year he and his neighbours dealt with an alarming number of encampments along their street, and many are thinking of moving.
“It’s just frustrating for me as a person, being a resident here. Very, very frustrating,” the resident said.
Arts on the Ave’s executive director, Christy Morin, said since the pandemic, crime has been heightened in these communities. But they’re hoping to change how the crime is dealt with and it starts with more people picking up the phone regardless of the incident.
“If one person calls, that helps. But when six different houses all call it makes a huge focus of concern of location of interest. Then all of a sudden the beats and the police and the gang units and everyone else can come in,” said Morin.
“The way to revitalize old neighbourhoods is keeping good neighbours and people that could help build capacity, we have a lot of people in need and we don’t want them to leave,” Morin said.
Residents say they’re hopeful for what could happen if more people make the call.
“The more I complain, I get calls from senior officers that are concerned about my problems and concerned about the neighbourhoods’ problems as well. So you just got to keep at it,” said a resident.
Arts on the Ave created a full list of contacts for those wanting to report an incident.