Thread by @michaeljanz

So about that Crime Stoppers misdirection presser today with UCP Minister Shandro and EPS Chief McFee. #ableg #yegcc 🧵

Let's clarify a few things about police funding and public safety in Edmonton:

Edmonton property taxes provide for the best resourced police force in Alberta and 2nd in Canada.

No one spends more on police per person than Edmonton and it's almost a quarter of your tax bill.

theglobeandmail.com/canada/article…

We have the largest air force with two helicopters, an airplane, and are buying a second airplane for $4.5 Million. Plus drones. And tanks. And cars. And trucks. And a ton of guns.
theprogressreport.ca/edmonton_polic…

Edmonton has the best paid police officers in Alberta (Via @ProgressAlberta).

The Edmonton Police Service have NEVER seen a budget cut and NEVER seen a layoff.

Never. Chief himself said so.

theprogressreport.ca/edmonton_cops_…

The UCP did however cut their budget $5 Million
globalnews.ca/news/6116066/e…
The EPS said its operating budget was reduced by $5M to $9M due to the province taking a larger portion of money from traffic tickets, as well as having to foot the bill for DNA biological casework.

Other rural municipalities received deep cuts too. The UCP actually defunded the police across Alberta:

albertandpcaucus.ca/news-events/po…

Let’s look at crime:

Via EPS: Over the last 3 years, #yeg has experienced a 17% reduction in crime. The city’s crime rate has historically been higher than the national avg, but despite the effects of the pandemic, progress made in closing that gap.
edmontonpolice.ca/News/MediaRele…

Chief Mcfee says addiction, trauma, mental health, — these are what is driving the violent crime.

Experts agree that policing is a public health problem: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11…

Let’s talk prevention.

For context the operational costs of one EPS officer are $191K.

City Council just voted $290K to pay for Bridge Housing with Dr. Louis Franscescetti.

cbc.ca/news/canada/ed…

Scaled up? AHS data for 2021 estimates 4,297 homeless patients who visited emergency rooms in the #yeg zone.

One person experiencing chronic homelessness can cost $114,850 in direct and indirect costs per year in Alberta.

Total health care savings? $494 MILLION.

There are lots of important expenditures, but what is the best ROI for each dollar invested by #yegcc or #ableg?

The UCP are failing to make us safer and are making life more expensive and dangerous:

Cutting housing funding:
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-new…
Notably left out of the budget is $8.9 million in yearly operating funds the city says it needs on a “priority basis” to run the wraparound supports in 348 new units of supportive housing in Edmonton.

Static funding for homeless and outreach support services is set to be flat over the next three years, sitting at $193 million.

Housing? Libraries? Sport space for youth at risk?
cbc.ca/news/canada/ed…
The Alberta government is cutting infrastructure money to municipalities by 25 per cent over the next three years.

Strong communities? Neighbourhood support?
cbc.ca/news/canada/ed… 
The @EFCL and Federation of Calgary Communities have written letters address a nearly 50 per cent cut to the community facility enhancement program (CFEP) this year compared to 2019.

cbc.ca/news/canada/ed…
UCP reduced the age eligibility of the Support and Financial Assistance Agreements (SFAA) with participants aging-out at 22 years instead of 24.

There’s so many more cuts - Cut funding for front-line community service providers assisting vulnerable  LGBTQiA2S+ youth
.

Let's talk opioids. People are dying at the hands of the UCP and his failed war on drugs.

As deaths mount, Marshall Smith has driven the province’s focus on abstinence over safer drug supplies. Driven by faith and ideology, the UCP have closed safe consumption sites and left us to find the bodies of our dead neighbours and loved ones: thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/…

We need Shandro to fix the Police Act to redirect police to real police work.

Chief McFee says the largest draw on police resources is Traffic.

We need police responding to violent crime, not fender benders.

edmontonpolice.ca/CommunityPolic…

Self-proclaimed "Fiscal conservatives" have led the charge in other jurisdictions.

Alberta must delegate the administrivia and non-violent-crime-in-progress away from highly paid, armed, equipped police to other supports.

montreal.ctvnews.ca/police-cadets-…

Yesterday we heard that Alberta Ave has had over 400 arsons last year -- that's double the number of homes in Lytton BC - without one arrest.

I'll make sure to tell them Minister Shandro and the UCP want them to call crime stoppers.

cbc.ca/news/canada/ed…