Police cracking down on parents who leave children in cars

Edmonton police say they are cracking down on parents and guardians who leave their children alone in vehicles.

Weve had a rather large increase in calls with regards to children left alone in vehicles, said Sgt Gary Willits with the Child At Risk Response Team. In the last 49 hours, weve had two incidents where weve laid charges.

One mother was charged after she left her seven-month-old baby in the back of a van near 137th Avenue and Manning Drive on Wednesday. A bystander called the police, who were able to reach in through the vans open window, unlock the doors, and rescue the child.

The mother was later found in the dressing room of a nearby store.

On Friday, a second woman was charged after leaving her two-year-old nephew alone in a car. In this case, the child managed to free himself from his car seat and crawled to the front seat of the car, where a bystander spotted him with a bloody nose.Seeing the child was in distress, the bystander was able to reach through the vans window and unlock the door, triggering the vans alarm.

The aunt returned to the parking lot when she heard the alarm andfound the bystander treating the childs bloody nose.

Police say the woman who found the childsnapped photos of the van and licence plate before the aunt drove away, which helped them later lay charges under the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act for wilfully causing child to be in need of intervention.

Willits said the child has recovered, and had only minimal medical needs.

Of course, the parents did not condone the actions of the aunt, he added.

Reports of children left aloneincreasing

Willits said EPS currently average about one call per day about a child left alone in a vehicle, up from the four to five calls per week EPS more typically received in the past.

Our main message here is you cannot leave you children unsupervised kids can get themselves in harms way and require medical assistance, Willits said.

Children are wandering away from vehicles, we see kids getting into medical distress, requiring aid but also the big part for us is ... when you cant see your child, you cant protect them.

In addition to health concerns over temperature and lack of supervision, Willits also warned that there are people who would take advantage of a child left alone.

When you cant see your child, you cant protect them.- Sgt. Gary Willets, EPSChild At Risk Response Team

For instance, he said, in both cases this week, concerned individuals were able to get to the children in question by reaching in and unlocking the doors.

Luckily, these were citizens that were able to step forward and provide aid and had the right motivation in mind. However, the concern is weve had abductions in the past, weve had children fall into harms way. So were pleading with parents to get this message [across].

And, he warned, Edmonton officers are only going to get tougher on guardians who leave their children unsupervised.

Theres no room for any give here, he said, adding that police response to such reports will range from issuing warnings to laying criminal charges.

Most people play the odds, oh, nothing will happen to my child, but we know in the end, the odds dont play in our favour.

Willits said charges have been laid against 16 people who left children alone in vehicles since the spring.