POLICE PRESENCE ON EDMONTON TRANSIT BEYOND PURVIEW OF CITY COUNCIL

Public safety remains a concern for users of Edmonton Transit services. Two City Councillors, Aaron Paquette of Ward Dene and Ashley Salvador of Ward Métis say they would like to see greater police presence on Edmonton Transit but the decision regarding that is left to Edmonton Police Service (EPS). EPS receives almost half a billion dollars per year and has 26 constables dedicated to transit.

Paquette says he has made his concerns known to pretty plain to the city manager, to the police chief, and to our administration and to the province. Salvador echoes Paquette in saying we can share feedback with the police commission but responsibility for operational decision making, allocation of resources, where the patrols go, lies with the chief and the service.

EPS spokesperson Brooke Timpson said transit-related calls are increasing overall and EPS’ “primary approach” is to work with social service agencies to “connect vulnerable community members to available resources.”