A trio of early morning arrests Wednesday kicked off an Edmonton Police Service plan to locate 230 people wanted for serious or violent offences, and 700 more wanted for serious traffic infractions.
The initiative is the second phase of Operation Warrant Execution, or Project OWE, which was first launched last April to clear up 16,000 outstanding warrants, for offences ranging from murder to bylaw infractions.
In the first phase of the project, police successfully executed more than 5,600 warrants and arrested nearly 2,700 people.
Staff Sgt. Regan James said police are now taking a “a really focused approach” to clearing up some of the most serious outstanding cases.
“This is all about quality,” said James, announcing the new plan Wednesday. “This is all about going out there and seeking out these individuals that do harm in our community.”
The project is being described by police as a “two-week enforcement blitz.”
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James said 45 officers will devote the next two weeks to bringing in the wanted people, which began with the arrest of three people wanted for aggravated sexual assault, robbery, and forcible confinement. James said the officers will operate both overtly and covertly, at various times of the day.
He said investigators have already tracked down some people who had fled to other countries and provinces.
The traffic component of the project will focus on people wanted for dangerous offences such impaired and dangerous driving, and criminal hit and run.
The first incarnation of Project OWE garnered some negative attention when photographs of a 16-year-old girl were published as part of a campaign that publicly named wanted people. The identification appeared to breach the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which bars the identification of offenders under the age of 18 without a court order.
That matter is currently under investigation by the RCMP and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
James said this phase of Project OWE does not involve a public identification aspect, but would not comment any further on the earlier incident.
During the first phase of the project, people with outstanding warrants were advised by police to turn themselves in.
James said some did, but they aren’t relying on people to surrender.
“I think we’ll just go out and find them this time,” he said.
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