Downtown social issues, crime priority for Edmonton police, McFee says

Edmonton's newly elected council can expect more advocacy from the city'spolice service on tackling social issues and crime downtown, says police Chief Dale McFee.

The Edmonton Police Service has been an advocate for the vulnerable for the last two-and-a-half years, while being "relentless" on crime, such as gun crime, hetold reportersWednesday.

"We will continue to be relentless on both. We're not going away. We're not going to be told that we don't belong in this space because we absolutely believe that we're critical in this space," said McFee, whose contract was recently extended until June 2026.

The police are "apolitical" but will work with whoever is elected in the upcoming municipal election,he said.However, the "status quo" isn't working.

Vulnerable populations, for example,need solutions and interventions beyond housing and safe consumption sites,McFee said.

"The investment in the middle of this system is missed, and it's been missed for a very long time," he said.

"We have to bring our voices to bear on this to actually do something differently, because it is not getting better."

In the coming days and weeks, police will work with the city and other partners on how to do things differently,he added.

During the availability with reporters, McFeeconfirmed police are investigating a string of arsons in the Alberta Avenue neighbourhood, and spoke about efforts toaddressan escalation of violence in the city.

The number of calls to police have not increased, butthe incidents police are called to are increasingly violent, he said, citing acts of gang-on-gang violence.

"A lot of that...is that organized criminal component, which we have teams working on24-7 around the clock.We're going to make it real uncomfortable for them," he said.

Edmonton's municipal election is Oct. 18. Advanced voting stations are open through Oct. 13, including Thanksgiving on Oct. 11.