A Safe and Connected Community
Without safety, we can’t thrive as a community. Over the past four years, I’ve heard too many stories of people being and feeling unsafe in our city. From dangerous encounters in public, to chronic vandalism at businesses, to garage break-ins and thefts from backyards, these incidents profoundly impact how we feel about our city and our neighbourhood.
As Gabor Mate reminds us, true safety isn’t just the absence of threats, it’s also about the presence of connection. Throughout my time on Council, I’ve approached community safety with this holistic lens, looking to support crime reduction and prevention while also helping Edmontonians feel connected to their community, welcomed in public spaces, and supported in times of crisis. I’ve done this by:
Investing in transit safety with additional Peace Officers, Community Transit Outreach Teams, and community-building initiatives like Auricle.
Expanding Crisis Diversion to bring the right resources to the right problem and relieve pressure on emergency services.
Renewing the public spaces bylaw to set clear expectations of behaviour without criminalizing poverty, including tools to deter the use of drugs in public.
Introducing new tools to tackle problem properties including tripling the property taxes for derelict homes, which has resulted in more than a third being demolished or fixed up.
Championing reconciliation and anti-hate initiatives because inclusive communities are the foundation of safe communities, regardless of race, religion, gender-identity, or sexual orientation.
Enabling revitalization efforts and community-led initiatives for festivals, celebrations, and connections.
We’re seeing the success of these initiatives in both stats and stories. Edmonton’s crime rate is at a 10 year low, and incidents on transit continue to drop. I’ve gone from not feeling comfortable taking my little one on the train to riding the LRT daily with her to and from daycare. What I’m hearing from Edmontonians is also shifting. From a starting point to nearly every email I received being related to safety, it continues to be a smaller proportion of what I’m hearing from Edmontonians.
But none of this means the problems are solved. Edmonton’s safety challenges are real, but they are not insurmountable. There are tangible steps we can continue to take including:
Implementing our Blueprint for Violence Prevention, a comprehensive strategy developed by the City in collaboration with key community partners. It offers the opportunity to reduce violence in the short-term while also preventing it in the future.
Introducing a Safety Attendant program to increase presence and create more welcoming transit spaces for everyone.
Continuing to advocate to the Province on the drug poisoning crisis. Too many Edmontonians aren’t able to access the health services they need. I passed a motion asking City staff to quantify the gaps our community is facing in supervised consumption sites, detox, treatment, and post-recovery housing so that we can make specific and evidence-based asks of the Province.
Further expanding Crisis Diversion teams to reduce long wait times and ensure there are alternatives to our emergency services, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Collaborating with the Province to decant shelter capacity from the core into smaller, full-day, and more housing-focused spaces that better serve the Edmontonians using them. Distributing capacity more evenly across the city also helps ensure every neighbourhood is well served and eases pressures on the downtown.
Improving encampment response times, particularly in the river valley, while continuing to advocate for and invest in the long-term housing solutions needed to end the housing crisis.
Supporting community-led safety initiatives and revitalization efforts, including through the Downtown Vibrancy Fund, Chinatown Vibrancy Fund, grants for BIAs, and neighbourhood revitalization programs.
By combining connection with accountability, and prevention with support, we can work towards a city where everyone has the dignity, safety, and sense of belonging they deserve.