Defund the police?

On Sept. 17, the FBI released its 2020 crime statistics report.

Milwaukee showed a 96.9% increase in homicides in 2020 compared to 2019.

Portland showed an 83% increase in homicides in 2020 compared to 2019.

Seattle showed a 73.3% increase in homicides in 2020 compared to 2019.

What these three cities have in common is the fact that all of them have “defunded” their police departments to various extents. The consequences speak for themselves.

Edmonton should most definitely not follow suit.

Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFeean is an internationally recognized innovator and executive leader. He has argued that a more integrated response between agencies is needed to provide a continuum of care for vulnerable communities and reduce the need for service.

“Community safety and well-being isn’t about one organization or the other. Everyone in the social safety net owns a part of creating the best possible outcomes for Edmontonians. The better we can integrate our approach, outcomes, data, and funding, the better we can serve our citizens,” McFee said.

Improving our police department is imperative, but it is questionable how this can be done if the city freezes the EPS budget as recommended. City Council is looking at an estimated funding freeze that would see about $260 million over the next five years.

We need to move away from broad generalizations and unrealistic solutions that move our city in only one direction, backward.

We CAN and NEED to reduce crime in Edmonton (which has been on the rise), and it involves supporting instead of defunding our police. It also means supporting or social services. We do not have to take money from one to help the other. We need to do both.

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