Help is on the way for Edmonton City Transit riders as the social disorder continues..On Monday, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) commenced a redeployment of resources to Edmonton’s LRT to address the ongoing increase in violent crime that transit riders and members of the vulnerable community are subjected to..“This is a coordinated and strategic response to deal with the increased levels of violent crime on Edmonton’s public transit,” EPS Chief Dale McFee said..“The goal is to create safer spaces for all transit users and encourage prosocial behaviour within and around Edmonton transit locations.”.EPS said it will redeploy 18 sworn positions from various units to make up two dedicated transit teams..These teams will supplement the work already done by Healthy Streets Operation Centre, Community Policing Branch Beats and City of Edmonton Community/Transit Peace Officers to provide a coordinated response to safety in transit corridors..“We recognize that violence on transit has escalated and requires a consistent EPS presence, and our previous staffing approach of using overtime shifts alone is not economical or sustainable," McFee said.."We believe a fulsome strategy to increase public safety in our city’s LRT corridor must include having the right authorities in place to respond at the right time.".McFree noted the addition of another 50 police resources funded by the province will take time but "sets us on the right path to ensure we are dealing with violence appropriately and keeping Edmontonians and transit users safe.".The EPS recently completed its 2022 crime analysis, including an overview of crime on transit. Notable statistics include a 31.4% (+680 events) increase in dispatched calls for police service from 2021 to 2022, with violent calls for service up by 52.8% during this time..READ MORE: EPS says violent crime on the rise in Edmonton.It appears the "City of Champions" is becoming the city of violent crime..Edmonton’s total crime rate increased by 11.3% last year compared to 2021, while Edmonton’s overall violent crime rate rose by 16.5% in 2022.."At the end of 2021, we knew we’d be heading into a challenging year as crime rates began trending back to pre-pandemic levels," McFee said.."Unfortunately, violent crime trended up across the city in 2022, with our downtown core and surrounding communities disproportionately hard hit. It’s not news we like to share, but it’s the reality facing our city and police service," .It is unclear how the redeployment of resources to Edmonton’s LRT will affect policing in the rest of the city.
