EDMONTON - Facing mounting pressure over the highest homicide numbers in the country and headlines screaming "Deadmonton," Edmonton's police chief is unrolling a long-term plan he hopes will curb violence and make the city safer.
Rod Knecht told reporters Monday it's difficult to prevent homicides, but he's hoping to come up with more ways to fight crime generally over the next five years.
"There is no simple or easy way to stop homicides from occurring in the short term, particularly without a single cause," Knecht said before meeting with Mayor Stephen Mandel to discuss his violence reduction strategy.
"Many are fuelled in the immediate by alcohol, drugs, power issues and/or extreme emotion. The solutions will be multi-faceted and require a holistic approach."
Specifics of the plan are to be released Wednesday, but Knecht did reveal that its objectives include reducing the severity and frequency of violence and the fear it spawns. Areas to be focused on include drugs and alcohol addiction, drug trafficking, weapons and "social disorder."
There are 33 homicides on the books so far this year in the Alberta capital, compared with a total of 27 in all of 2010. Calgary has had only four. Canada's largest city, Toronto, has had 27 homicides. Winnipeg has 24.
The situation prompted a Calgary media outlet to mock its northern neighbour with a recent front-page headline: "Deadmonton."
And the hot-button issue has turned political, becoming fodder for some candidates vying to be the leader of the Alberta Progessive Conservatives and the next premier.
Former health minister Gary Mar and former justice minister Alison Redford sparred last week over crime-prevention program funding. Former deputy premier Doug Horner joined the mix Monday, denouncing Mar for attacking Redford.
"As Albertans we should all be concerned about what is happening in Edmonton," Horner said in a news release following Knecht's announcement. "We need to get a handle on how this problem has developed and invest the time, money, and people to tackle the problem."
Knecht said he has met with government officials and social agencies since he became chief in June to discuss what can be done.
"We have been presented with a very complex situation that requires a variety of initiatives and we cannot address this problem alone," he said.
Knecht explained traffic officers can even help target criminals where they're most vulnerable — behind the wheel — while they're speeding, running lights or spinning tires.
"We know that criminals have to move from A to B. They have to move their product."
Edmonton is still a very safe city, Knecht added, and he plans to put more officers on the street as a more visible reminder of that.
The mayor met in private with the chief for more than an hour to discuss the strategy. Mandel later said the force is doing "a heck of a good job" and everyone needs to work together to make the city a safer place to live.
"We need to do a better job as a city," said Mandel. "This is just not the police's responsibility. It's all of society's responsibility."
He said the plan won't be an instant "cure-all," but residents should notice change in three to five years. In the meantime, he doesn't like describing Edmonton as the murder capital of the country.
"You look at the glass half full or half empty," he said. "I look at a city that's lowered it's crime rate by 20 per cent and it's violent crime by seven per cent.
"This is a great city with a great future."
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