Zero tolerance for parents who leave tots in vehicles?
More people calling 911, police say
For the fourth time in six days, Edmonton police have laid charges after a passerby discovered children left alone in a vehicle.
Police were called about 5 p.m. Monday after two children were spotted in a vehicle near 28th Avenue and 66th Street.
The children, ages two and nine, were alone for about 30 minutes while their mother was grocery shopping, police spokeswoman Clair Seyler said Tuesday.
The children were watching a video inside the vehicle.
A 37-year-old mother has been charged with wilfully causing a child to be in need of intervention under the Child Youth and Family Enhancement Act, police said.
Seyler said police have laid 20 charges this year, including three criminal charges, in connection to children being left alone in vehicles.
Sgt. Gary Willits said criminal charges have been made in extreme cases, while other parents have only received warnings.
“We look at the entire incident: where it happened, the age, the dangers the child was exposed to, the final outcome,” he said.
Other recent incidents include:
On Saturday, a 59-year-old man was charged under the Criminal Code with child abandonment after leaving his 11-month-old grandson alone in a vehicle at a dog park in Terwillegar. The baby was found in an unlocked Dodge Caravan with one window rolled down.
Last Wednesday, a 33-yearold woman was charged after her seven-month-old child was found alone in a minivan in northeast Edmonton.
On Friday, a woman was charged after her two-yearold nephew was discovered alone in the back seat of an SUV on the city’s south side.
Both women face a charge under the Child Youth and Family Enhancement Act, police said.
Seyler said an educational campaign reminding parents and guardians that vehicles are not babysitters has led the public to report such incidents more often.
“It’s not like this wasn’t happening before, but people are now more aware and calling police,” Seyler said.
Thomas Sutton, senior manager of specialized services at the Edmonton and Area Child and Family Services Authority, said it’s never OK to leave a child alone in a vehicle.
“You’re leaving them in a mechanical device that’s subject to temperature extremes, and you’re walking away,” he said.
If you spot a child alone in a car, you should call 911 immediately, police say.
Provide them with the location, licence plate and vehicle description, and stay with the child until help arrives.
This summer, police averaged about five reports each week regarding children left alone in vehicles.
Earlier this month, an Edmonton mother was charged with child abandonment after she left her five-year-old son alone in a running vehicle while she shopped for toys.
In July, a three-year-old girl died after she was found inside an SUV outside her home in Edmonton on a day where the temperature soared to 33 C. Police later ruled the death non-criminal.