Edmonton police were dispatched to calls on transit 31 per cent more in 2022 than they were in 2021. Violent calls for service were up by 52.8 per cent over the same time period, according to Edmonton Police Service data.
Overall, only four per cent of Edmonton’s recorded violent crimes happen in LRT/transit centres, but crime severity trends higher in transit centres than it does citywide, increasing 12.7 per cent from 2021 to 2022.
“Seventy per cent of the violent crime occurring on transit was random in nature… which generally means two people not known to each other,” explained Edmonton Police Chief Dale McFee.
“The numbers are not an anomaly. Violence is up in the city and particularly in our downtown core,” he added.
From 2021 to 2022, the number of criminal incidents that happened at LRT/transit centres increased 63 per cent, compared to a 16 per cent increase citywide.
EPS data identified drivers of crime severity at LRT/transit centres as: personal robbery, assault, possession of weapons, robbery with a weapon and aggravated assault.
“We are not alone in experiencing these challenges,” McFee said. “We have heard examples across the country.”
He said there needs to be a made-in-Edmonton response, with a focus on coordination and collaboration, and better enforcement when it comes to those who perpetuate violence.
“Those responsible need to be held accountable,” he said. “The presence of social disorder and violence has no place in our community, especially when it targets one’s sense of safety.”
Edmonton police released the 2022 crime statistics on Wednesday, including an update on transit. Edmonton police chief Dale McFee was joined by representatives from the City of Edmonton and the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society.
Police said they are working with partners, including the city, and social agencies like Bent Arrow, Edmonton Transit Service and the Community Outreach Transit Team to reduce crime and increase safety.
“We must offer help to those in need, and accountability to those who only offer disruption and victimization for their own personal gain,” McFee explained.
“Solving this issue is about having the right partner, with the right authorities at the table to apply the right solutions at the right time.
“This is why I am pleased to be part of this Transit Safety Partnership and that we are approaching this issue, as we have done downtown, with the right partners to help reduce victimization and to be able to respond to incidents that occur,” McFee said.
In 2021, the EPS partnered with Bent Arrow and other agencies to create the Human-centered Engagement and Liaison Partnership (HELP) Unit, to match individuals at greatest risk for victimization and offending with service providers.
“The pandemic has been devastating, particularly for those already struggling to make ends meet,” said Bent Arrow executive director Cheryl Whiskeyjack.
“Our partnership with the city and police has been critical in supporting marginalized individuals impacted by COVID-19,” she said.
“By bringing our agencies together, we can leverage each other’s strengths to provide comprehensive support that addresses both their immediate and underlying needs. We already see these partnerships making a real difference in their lives.”
“Violence, crime and disorder on transit cannot be solved by enforcement alone,” McFee said. “It requires a collaborative approach that recognizes the complexity of the issues, which include elements of addiction, mental health, housing and more. But all this being said, enforcement and suppression of crime is a key element in reducing victimization.”
Several EPS Community Safety Teams were recently launched in the downtown core and at several central LRT stations as part of the Healthy Street Operations Centre. The multidisciplinary teams, which include social workers, firefighters and peace officers, focus on high visibility and community engagement.
Despite the latest crime numbers, which McFee described as “stark,” the police chief said he thinks all the appropriate authorities and organizations are in place to address the complex issues evident on the transit system and, working collaboratively, will improve the situation.
“If you look at the future, we have a lot of good things in place right now, and what we need to do is do an evaluation of what is the appropriate staffing levels required to keep people safe.
“What do we need police for and what are their authorities? What do we need TPOs (transit peace officers) and what are their authorities?”
McFee believes the approach must balance enforcement with diversion and social supports.
“We have all the things we need to deal with the issue. If it’s not violence, we have TPO. If we have a vulnerable person, we have our joint teams through Cheryl (Bent Arrow) to connect them to services.
“We have the police there so when it is something that’s violence-associated, we have the ability to put them in the justice system.”
He also referenced bail reform in order to hold certain individuals accountable within the justice and correctional systems.
McFee also said the response to transit crime and social disorder can’t be one-size-fits-all.
“It’s not the same solution for everyone,” he said. “The reality is you need diverse skill sets down there to ensure safety (and) you can’t have wellbeing without safety… We distinctly think we all belong in this picture.”
However, the president of the union that represents transit workers said the problem is getting worse and police need to step up.
“What, exactly, (are) the police going to do about the increase in crime on our system?” asked Steve Bradshaw, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 569. “This is, after all, their territory. They’re the police. Stopping crime is their business. Yet there are still no beat police on the system.”
He said the message to McFee is: “status quo is not good enough.”
“We heard from Manager Corbould a long, long list of things that the City of Edmonton is doing to try to get at the roots of this problem, to try to get at the immediate part of the problem, but we’re not hearing from the police,” Bradshaw said.
“We need to see those beat cops reinstated down in the tunnels, helping out to enforce order in the transit system.
“There’s crack use on the bus, on the trains,” he added. “Operators are concerned, very concerned, about their own personal health.”
Bradshaw is also calling on the premier to “fulfill your mandate” and address the health-care, housing, addiction and mental health crises.
The union is asking that TPOs be granted authority to enforce the mental health act and make arrests for outstanding warrants.
City Manager Andre Corbould rides the LRT regularly and is confident the pieces of the puzzle are in place to improve conditions.
He said the city hired a director of transit safety in September, hired a transit security dispatcher, expanded oversight on security cameras, doubled the number of Community Outreach Transit (COT) teams, is launching a bystander awareness campaign, expanded the transit safety plan to include connecting pedways and increased presence of security and peace officers.
Corbould said there are currently more than 90 front-line transit security staff and 22 more will be added this year.
Still, he said there are root causes to social disorder that need to be addressed, like “mental health and addictions — which directly impact the drug-poisoning crisis — the need for better shelter spaces and housing solutions for people in the city. This is something we’ll continue to advocate and collaborate with other orders of government on.”
“We will increase safety for everyone,” Courbould said.
Whiskeyjack said marginalized people often see transit as a safe place for themselves – from weather and from those who may a seek to harm them.
“In 2022, we had more than 700 engagements that resulted in a referral to a support based on identified needs, including transportation to a community organization.”
They’re all hopeful steps have been taken that will make things safer.
“You’ve got three agencies that say this is priority, that are committed to changing it,” McFee said.
“We all know it’s not going to change overnight. So we’re not going to give anyone false hope, but we also have to give them hope.
“Our goal with Duane (Hunter, the city’s director of transit safety) and the teams that we have is to continue to put some accountability into the system. It’s about everybody that wants to ride transit feels comfortable.
“We’ll come back with a better story next year. We have to.”