Officials defend 20-month process to get 50 new officers on Edmonton transit, downtown

The provincial government is making good on an election promise to pay for 50 new police officers to patrol "high-crime areas" in Edmonton, while defending the time it's taking to get those boots on the ground.

The United Conservative Party first pledged the investment in April, now pegged at $8.3 million, along with other money for more crisis teams and enhanced transit station cleaning.

Although some experienced officers have already been deployed to help on transit, the process is expected to take at least another 12 months to complete.

"There aren't 50 unemployed police officers that are fully trained, sitting on the streets right now," Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said when a reporter asked why it's taking so long.

"To really get a fully trained and qualified police officer that can really handle any call to service, takes about five years. They're going as fast as they can."

Ellis' comments come a week after transit violence worries again flared in the capital city following the revelations of two random attacks at the Coliseum LRT Station.

A 55-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man were left with serious injuries in those cases.

500 INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE

A closer look at police data shows there have been more than 500 reported incidents of violence at transit centres and LRT stations in Edmonton so far this year.

That total does not include crimes that went unreported, online complaints or attacks on trains, buses or near (but not at) transit stations.

EPS now has 21 officers riding transit in teams of six.

A report presented at city hall Tuesday said the number of violent crimes in transit hubs from Oct. 1 to Nov. 21 fell to 75 from 123 the year prior.

The number of non-violent incidents is up, however, from 166 to 248 in the same timeframe.

"We've seen a significant drop in crime level, in relation to transit, ever since they've been in there," said Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee

McFee said the process to add the 50 new officers is a complicated one and some of the $8.3 million will be used to backfill the positions of the officers that have already been rushed to patrol transit.

BIGGER CLASSES 'CHALLENGING': PROFESSOR

The chief explained that EPS is increasing its triannual recruitment classes from 32 to 50, streamlining recruitment for experienced officers and looking at offloading duties to staff that "don't need a badge and a gun" to free up more frontline officers.

McFee said they are now receiving a record number of applications following a couple years of low recruitment during the "defund movement."

"These additional officers are the next step in tackling Edmonton’s high-crime areas," he said.

The funding breaks down to $4.5 million for salaries and benefits, $2.5 million for vehicles, uniforms and equipment, $850,000 for "ongoing technology costs," and $500,000 for recruitment.

"Our government will do whatever it takes to address the concerning escalating crime rates, particularly in vital areas like public transit and the downtown core," said Ellis.

Doug King, professor of justice studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said the timeline may seem long to the public, but when you think about the complexities of policing, it's actually "pretty ambitious."

"How do you deal with people with mental health disorders? How do you deal with people with substance use disorders?" he asked.

"So there is more to train now and now there are more officers to train. So that's challenging and we'll see how it plays out."

He believes "underfunding police" in recent years is part of the reason crime spiked in Calgary and Edmonton.

'LRT ROULETTE': COUNCILLORS DEBATE TURNSTILES

The province has also assigned Alberta Sheriffs to help patrol inner-city Edmonton and established a new task force to tackle crime and disorder in the core and around transit.

At city hall Tuesday, Coun. Tim Cartmell reiterated his support for exploring fair gates in LRT stations in an effort to improve safety.

"It’s like LRT roulette. It may only be one incident that happens in a day, or one incident that happens on that platform, or you know it happens a few times in a week," Cartmell said of people being afraid of the transit system.

"But I don’t want it to be me, and I don’t want it to be my kid, so I’m not going to take that chance."

But not everyone is on board with the idea, including Coun. Michael Janz who thinks the gates may be expensive, easy to get around and concentrate problems in other tunnels.

"I wanna see the report. I want to know the cost," he said.

"I want to have the answers, but I’m skeptical that there’s no quick, easy, techno fix to this incredibly complex, complicated problem."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Chelan Skulski and Jeremy Thompson