Police LRT unit works to protect the vulnerable

Squad recorded 2,277 calls from people in ‘very helpless position’

People riding the LRT alone late at night are trapped — that’s why a spike in addiction-related cellphone, laptop and headphone snatching is especially terrifying, city council was told Wednesday.

“People are in a very helpless position,” said Edmonton police Insp. Derek McIntyre, who supervises a new LRT-dedicated beat patrol. “You’re in a train car underground and there is very little opportunity for you to flee. Really ... it is a very vulnerable position to be in.”

Police documented 2,277 calls related to crime or disorder on the trains or at the stations in the last five years, roughly 0.003 per cent of all trips.

McIntyre believes that would be higher if not for his team. Police executed 5,000 warrants and responded to almost 1,000 incidents themselves in 2016, crimes they catch or head off by being in the right place when they happen. That doesn’t include less serious incidents involving transit peace officers, who work with police.

Coun. Michael Walters brought the issue forward, asking administration to outline how it is trying to stay on top of the issue.

These are mostly not violent crimes, and Walters feels OK letting his 12-year-old and 14-yearold children ride the line alone when they need to. But property crime — when thieves snatch cellphones, headphones or other personal devices — is deeply unsettling for those who experience it.

“Each year, I want us to keep talking about this,” he said after convincing council’s community service committee to order annual reports. This report gives them a baseline. He wants administration to chart trends, keep improving lighting and sight lines at the stations, and consider a funding request if they need to change tactics in 2019.

The nine-member LRT-focus police team was formed in 2016 and oversaw a drop in reports of violent crime to 114 calls in 2016, from 270 the year before.

That’s because police analyze crime trends by hour and location to ensure their officers are in position to respond or intercept crime where it’s most likely to occur, McIntyre said. They ’re able to watch for people in withdrawal, for example, and try to connect them with social workers and the 24-7 crisis diversion team often before they grab that cellphone to secure their next fix.

They’re also getting to know the youth gangs who are demanding

Every time they answer their door and they’re abiding by their curfew, they’re not on the LRT robbing people.

people’s shoes and jackets just to intimidate people and try to “own the LRT,” he said.

The same beat officers who arrest them originally are following up, knocking on their door at 11 p.m. to ensure they’re home. “Every time they answer their door and they ’re abiding by their curfew, they ’re not on the LRT robbing people.”

City officials have been trying to make the LRT safer through renovations and redesign. Corporate security does audits every couple years, and did a special audit of the Southgate LRT station recently. City crews are now adding help phones, fencing, wayfinding signage and a pathway at that location.

The city also hired RPK Architects to evaluate all LRT station lighting.

For Coliseum and Stadium LRT stations, two hot spots where police often focus, the city got funding for new designs through a past federal transit initiative.

But those designs are not yet finished and renewal has no capital funding yet.