Coordinated, multi-sector approach needed to tackle rising crime, says criminologist
Sundberg said Edmonton, and cities across Canada, are likely seeing a rise in crime due to the COVID-19 pandemic and people not getting proper access to support systems.
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There will need to be an all-hands-on-deck approach to tackle rising crime in cities, a Mount Royal University criminologist says.
On Friday, the Edmonton Police Service released its crime analysis for 2022, which shows a rise in crime rates, severity and violence in the city compared to the previous year and an increasing number of repeat offenders committing a large number of offences.
The service is calling for better information sharing among police, courts, corrections and other sectors to better track crime, who is committing it and why.
Criminologist Kelly Sundberg at Mount Royal University said that is exactly what needs to happen to address the current situation.
“How are we going to achieve this so that we have data-driven, evidence-based community-focused coordinated approaches?” he said. “That’s the only way we’re gonna get out of this. It’s the only way that I can see forward.”
Sundberg said Edmonton and cities across Canada are likely seeing a rise in crime due to the COVID-19 pandemic and people not getting proper access to support systems. Organized crime has also been taking advantage of and contributing to the current situation.
“It should be no surprise that we’re seeing this increase,” Sundberg said. “There is a small cohort of people battling some really serious demons at no fault of their own, that have been abandoned in our public spaces that were basically empty during the pandemic.”
He said municipalities, provinces and the federal government need to come together to tackle the problem.
“We need to stop these single-project approaches because they’re just not working and they haven’t worked, and we’re still seeing people dying from overdoses, we’re still seeing people getting attacked,” Sundberg said. “It’s all the same root causes.”
On the same day the police released its statistics, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police met with premiers across Canada to discuss public safety, policing and bail reform.
In a statement, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the leaders are united in their commitment to public safety and support for police.
“The federal government’s revolving-door policies are hurting our communities, and in the coming days the premiers will be writing a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to address issues related to violent and repeat offenders,” Smith said.
“Crime rates and incidents of violence across the country are extremely alarming and we are all committed to ensuring Canadians feel safe on their streets, in their homes and in their communities.”
With concerns raised around repeat offenders, Sundberg said the court system definitely has to be a part of the coordinated approach to the issue.
“When someone is arrested and brought before the courts, why are they getting released? Chances are they may have been arrested before but never convicted. We’re all innocent until proven guilty,” he said.
“Really in my mind, it comes down to, we’ve just been dealing with this problem in silos, knowledge silos, with people with organizations with very specific agendas, and there’s no overarching strategy that’s at play.”
Speaking at a Friday news conference announcing funding to repair nearly 2,000 city-owned rental housing, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the rising crime rate is concerning.
“A single incident of violence in Edmonton should not happen and we have seen an increase and we are very concerned about it,” he said. “We are taking steps but we also need to look at root causes and continue to invest in those root causes so that people heal, get better and be productive members of society.”
He outlined steps the city has taken, including increasing police funding by $7 million this year and filling a $22-million hole in police funding due to provincial changes in collecting revenue from photo radar and automated enforcement.
The city has also launched the Healthy Streets Operation Centre in Chinatown, meant to tackle crime and disorder in the city’s core, as well as continuing to invest in housing, harm reduction and treatment.
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