Edmonton police credit data-driven strategy for drop in downtown crime severity
Police say the Safer Edmonton initiative uses data to guide patrols, leading to a 13.6 per cent drop in downtown crime severity this year.
EDMONTON — The Edmonton Police Service says the average crime severity in the downtown core dropped 13.6 per cent in the first nine months of 2026 compared to the same period last year.
EPS held a news conference on Wednesday to discuss the reduction, attributing it partly to a new strategy dubbed Safer Edmonton, which was launched in the spring.
"We’re also seeing improvements in disorder-related activity, which remains one of the most common concerns raised by our communities," said Devin Laforce, EPS’ chief of police operations.
READ MORE: Teen motorcyclist charged after crash kills man, injures baby at Edmonton bus shelter
READ MORE: Halifax woman Tasered, charged after hit and run leads to crash with police car
From Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, public calls for service downtown dropped 7.6 per cent compared to 2025, while officer-generated calls increased by 42.5 per cent.
"That’s fewer victims, fewer people needed to call police, and in exchange for that, we have our police officers being in the right places at the correct times, doing the correct things," Laforce said.
The Safer Edmonton initiative uses data and technology to determine where patrols should be focused, combined with traditional police work.
Laforce said the way police use data allows officers "more time to get ahead of it and to be in those correct locations."
Insp. Jason Altmiks with EPS’ crime management branch said software is helping police patrol more efficiently. "Our ability to integrate and analyze data has never been so advanced as it is today," he said.
But University of Alberta criminology professor Temitope Oriola said he is "hesitant to accept that somehow this is brand new."
"I think it’s a repackaging of the kinds of steps, the kinds of measures that police organizations have been using for decades," Oriola told CBC News.
Coun. Mike Elliott, a former Edmonton police officer, voiced a similar opinion. "While I applaud what they're doing, to me, it is still at the end of the day, old-school policing," he said.
Expansion to west end
EPS officials said the police department is expanding the Safer Edmonton strategy to other areas of the city.
In the west end, police said violent crime is down 17 per cent overall this year compared to last year.
Insp. Trevor Bohachyk with EPS’s west branch said the branch has also seen a 17 per cent reduction in personal injuries and collisions, aided by a pilot aggressive driving unit.
"While there is no single solution to community safety challenges, these results suggest that focused enforcement is helping make a difference," Bohachyk said.
Police said people in the Stony Plain Road area can expect to see a more visible police presence, with proactive patrols now seven days a week.
Todd Janes, executive director of the Stony Plain Road and Area Business Association, said businesses have already noticed the increased police presence.
"That seven-day-a-week support … and that policing and surveillance is making a difference," he told reporters Wednesday.
Janes said the area has been dealing with issues like break-ins, copper wire thefts, graffiti and vandalism, but businesses remain resilient.
"I think we can’t necessarily police ourselves out of the system. I think it’s complicated, and it needs a number of different resources," Janes said.
With files from CBC News, CityNews and Edmonton Journal