“There is no question that the community wants to see frontline policing be a bigger priority, even within a tough resource environment. With growing needs and a front-line service that is still recovering from more than two years of COVID impacts, we know we have to make some tough changes to get the right people in the right places at the right times,” says Deputy Chief Darren Derko, in charge of Community Policing Bureau. “This model will help us achieve this, while also allowing us to look after the wellness of our members.”
The new patrol model, which will be deployed on Nov. 13, evolved with input from frontline members who understand the needs to address growing front-line workload demands, but to also balance deployment more effectively to address officer wellness. The new squad model will ensure service levels that improve members’ ability to respond to calls for service and better serve the citizens of Edmonton.
Identifying sufficient numbers to make the model work meant examining other police functions to determine where people could be moved towards a patrol function. As a result, there will be service implications caused by these changes, some of which will be noticeable to the general public.
For example, the opening of two new Collision Reporting Centres on Sept. 29, 2022, has changed how the public reports minor collisions, and allows EPS to gradually decrease the number of constables who work in this area while peace officers are hired and trained to staff the centres. Other changes include the closure of the front counter at the Northwest Police Station and a reduction in some front counter hours. These changes will free up additional constables to support the patrol shift.
Information about additional service impacts resulting from this change will be outlined in the coming weeks.
“All considerations are being made to mitigate the impacts of the needed changes both to EPS and to the community while ensuring the new Patrol model is equipped and ready for this change,” added Deputy Chief Derko.