The violence continues on Edmonton's LRT system which has prompted police to warn residents to be “extremely cautious” if riding transit..Since the winter, social disorder on the streets of Edmonton and crime and chaos within the transit system has been an utmost concern for residents..On Wednesday, the police gave a warning to Edmontonians..“You have to be extremely cautious on our transit system and on our streets downtown right now, because there are many people who are in difficult situations themselves, who are very angry for a variety of reasons,” said Edmonton Police Service (EPS) Detective Jared Buehler..Buehler has lived in downtown Edmonton for 30 years and says he is frustrated by what he sees on the streets..EPS patrol officers have responded to multiple violent events over the past several days, including weapons complaints, aggravated assaults, car jackings, a suspicious death and another tragic random homicide at a public transit station.."While some of these incidents involve individuals not known to another, some do not," EPS Deputy Chief Darren Derko said.."And it is these random acts of violence that are the most concerning for the police officers.".Derko said he was "saddened" to report that a citizen's life was taken by someone with a lengthy criminal history and who was on bail.."I'm disappointed and concerned to report that a senior who regularly spends time in the downtown taking photographs as a hobby was traumatized and injured," Derko said.."This type of random violence continues to be a common call for our officers. And it simply shouldn't happen. Citizens should feel safe taking transit, or enjoying the time in the downtown core.".READ MORE: Edmonton homeless man charged with murder broke conditions of bail.Derko said the EPS knows how deeply incidents like these can impact communities.."Well, I cannot speak in great deal detail to the individual circumstances of each incident. I want to assure citizens that we continue to actively investigate these occurrences and remain committed to keeping our communities and city safe," Derko said.."I'd be remiss if I didn't stress the impact this number of violent events has on our resources and our officers. When several violent events occur in a short period of time our resources often become stretched and maintaining adequate service levels and response times is very difficult.".READ MORE: City of Edmonton 'deletes' loitering clause from transit bylaw.The City of Edmonton's transit bylaw was changed on July 5, 2021, to delete the loitering provision from The Conduct of Transit Passengers Bylaw 8353..And an EPS officer, whose name is protected, told the Western Standard, "This is when everything went downhill.".On July 5, 2021, in response to a "recommendation" from City Administration Edmonton City Council voted unanimously to pass Bylaw 19782, which replaced the anti-loitering provision from Bylaw 8353..READ MORE: City of Edmonton encourages social groups to not hand out needles or pipes on transit.The anti-loitering provision used to read "a person shall not loiter on transit property or in a transit vehicle for longer than required to reach their destination.".The loitering clause now reads "deleted" in the city bylaw..In recent months, some say the homeless and drug addicts have taken over the system and caused complete disorder and apparent confusion.."Our resources are stretched thin," the EPS officer said.."When the council did this (bylaw change) was when most of the problems in transit became an apparent issue. I felt we couldn't police it anymore."
The violence continues on Edmonton's LRT system which has prompted police to warn residents to be “extremely cautious” if riding transit..Since the winter, social disorder on the streets of Edmonton and crime and chaos within the transit system has been an utmost concern for residents..On Wednesday, the police gave a warning to Edmontonians..“You have to be extremely cautious on our transit system and on our streets downtown right now, because there are many people who are in difficult situations themselves, who are very angry for a variety of reasons,” said Edmonton Police Service (EPS) Detective Jared Buehler..Buehler has lived in downtown Edmonton for 30 years and says he is frustrated by what he sees on the streets..EPS patrol officers have responded to multiple violent events over the past several days, including weapons complaints, aggravated assaults, car jackings, a suspicious death and another tragic random homicide at a public transit station.."While some of these incidents involve individuals not known to another, some do not," EPS Deputy Chief Darren Derko said.."And it is these random acts of violence that are the most concerning for the police officers.".Derko said he was "saddened" to report that a citizen's life was taken by someone with a lengthy criminal history and who was on bail.."I'm disappointed and concerned to report that a senior who regularly spends time in the downtown taking photographs as a hobby was traumatized and injured," Derko said.."This type of random violence continues to be a common call for our officers. And it simply shouldn't happen. Citizens should feel safe taking transit, or enjoying the time in the downtown core.".READ MORE: Edmonton homeless man charged with murder broke conditions of bail.Derko said the EPS knows how deeply incidents like these can impact communities.."Well, I cannot speak in great deal detail to the individual circumstances of each incident. I want to assure citizens that we continue to actively investigate these occurrences and remain committed to keeping our communities and city safe," Derko said.."I'd be remiss if I didn't stress the impact this number of violent events has on our resources and our officers. When several violent events occur in a short period of time our resources often become stretched and maintaining adequate service levels and response times is very difficult.".READ MORE: City of Edmonton 'deletes' loitering clause from transit bylaw.The City of Edmonton's transit bylaw was changed on July 5, 2021, to delete the loitering provision from The Conduct of Transit Passengers Bylaw 8353..And an EPS officer, whose name is protected, told the Western Standard, "This is when everything went downhill.".On July 5, 2021, in response to a "recommendation" from City Administration Edmonton City Council voted unanimously to pass Bylaw 19782, which replaced the anti-loitering provision from Bylaw 8353..READ MORE: City of Edmonton encourages social groups to not hand out needles or pipes on transit.The anti-loitering provision used to read "a person shall not loiter on transit property or in a transit vehicle for longer than required to reach their destination.".The loitering clause now reads "deleted" in the city bylaw..In recent months, some say the homeless and drug addicts have taken over the system and caused complete disorder and apparent confusion.."Our resources are stretched thin," the EPS officer said.."When the council did this (bylaw change) was when most of the problems in transit became an apparent issue. I felt we couldn't police it anymore."
