EDMONTON- A Drayton Valley woman has been charged after allegedly leaving a two-year-old girl alone in a vehicle in south Edmonton.
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) says the incident happened on May 27, 2013 at a “large grocery chain” in the area of 91st Street and 23rd Avenue. Officers say the child was allegedly left in the vehicle for close to an hour.
After an investigation involving both the EPS and Drayton Valley RCMP, a 29-year-old Drayton Valley woman has been charged with one count of Child Abandonment under the Criminal Code.
“Too many people seem to think that a locked vehicle is a safe place for a child to be left,” explains Sergeant Elli McEvoy. “The message we need to get out is that it doesn’t matter if it’s a hot, cold, rainy or sunny day. It doesn’t matter if the windows are open a crack, if the air conditioning is running or if the sunroof is open. It doesn’t matter how long you’re going to be in the store for; a vehicle is not a babysitter. Your children are not safe when they are unattended. If it’s not convenient to take your children with you while you do errands, delay the errands.”
McEvoy says police take this crime very seriously and whenever the situation calls for it, charges will be laid against “negligent parents and guardians.”
Police say this crime is easily preventable and urge people to get involved if they see a child alone in a vehicle.
“If a member of the public sees a child in a vehicle that is unattended, they are asked to call 911 immediately and are asked not to leave the child alone until help arrives,” McEvoy said.