In May, EPS announced its new Safer Edmonton Initiative aimed at addressing disorder and crime by concentrating resources in areas where calls for service are highest. On Wednesday, EPS said the average crime severity in that area fell 13.6 per cent and public calls for service decreased by 7.6 per cent compared to the same period last year, while officer-generated calls increased by 42.5 per cent due to “proactive police engagement” in the area. “We’re also seeing improvements in disorder-related activity, which remains one of the most common concerns raised by our communities,” said EPS police operations chief Devin Laforce. “These trends suggest that targeted enforcement, combined with support from our community partners, is helping us address the people, places, and behaviours driving ongoing crime and disorder in the core.” EPS said the success of the strategy has prompted it to start targeted enforcement in other parts of the city, including the Stony Plain Road area in west Edmonton. “Stony Plain Road has been an ongoing concern for crime, disorder and drug use, particularly in and around Butler Park, which serves as a major transit hub for the area,” said Insp. Trevor Bohachyk with EPS West Division. On Sept. 30, EPS said ongoing enforcement in the area helped officers respond quickly when a man was assaulted in Butler Memorial Park and left with life-threatening injuries. “Thanks to ongoing enforcement in the area, the unknown group of assailants were quickly identified,’ EPS said. “One male has since been charged and remanded.” EPS said the west branch has seen a 17-per-cent reduction in violent crime since the start of the year. It said it hopes to see further reduction as a result of ongoing proactive enforcement.
