Edmonton police chief said ‘work is for naught’ if criminal cases are withdrawn

Edmonton’s police chief said he is concerned that nearly half of criminal cases in the city were withdrawn in court last year.

This is the first time Chief Dale McFee has publicly commented on the findings of a Global News investigation that the percentage of criminal cases withdrawn in the city has been rising over the last few years and sat at 47 per cent last year.

McFee said he does not want to place blame, saying that “won’t get us anywhere,” but his concern was evident.

“[It] means that 47 per cent of our criminal work is for naught. That’s a huge concern,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "[It] means that 47 per cent of our criminal work is for naught. That's a huge concern," he said.

McFee said the number of breaches and failures to comply are rising in Edmonton but, at the same time, he said there is a need to reduce the demand on the justice system.

“Police control 100 per cent of intake in the justice system. We obviously start to sort intake and take some things upon ourselves, making sure we’re getting the right people into the justice system,” he said.

Michael Elliott, president of the Edmonton Police Association, previously told Global News that officers work hard on their files and sometimes get attached to them.

“It’s frustrating for the members to know that cases are being dropped. In addition to that, it’s also frustrating for the victims,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's frustrating for the members to know that cases are being dropped. In addition to that, it's also frustrating for the victims," he said.

A transition binder for Chief McFee, obtained by Global News through a Freedom of Information request, states that Crown prosecutors currently do not proactively provide feedback to officers about why a matter is withdrawn.

“Receiving feedback is absolutely necessary in order to improve the product we put forward and in order to properly allocate scarce police resources,” the transition binder reads.

“If we’re dealing with the limited amount of Crown resources and we’re asking them to triage cases, chances are one of the things that maybe has been pushed to a lower priority level is communication and feedback back to police,” said Dr. Tamara O’Doherty, a lecturer at the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University.

The provincial government, in response to the Global News investigation, reiterated a campaign promise to spend $10 million to hire 50 new prosecutors and support staff. Details about where those prosecutors will be based will be revealed after the provincial budget.

Have a tip about this story or another story? Email reporter Julia Wong in confidence at julia.wong@globalnews.ca