Thursday, June 16, 2011
In a wide-ranging interview Tuesday, Rod Knecht, Edmonton's new chief of police, said 16 officers have been seconded to help solve this year's killings.
"That's quite significant, to move 16 people from other duties, focusing on the outstanding unsolved homicides," he said.
Knecht said he was briefed this week on each of the 25 homicides "in significant detail.
"I have a pretty good understanding of where we are now. Clearly, the rate is high on a comparative basis. And the best way to address it is head-on."
The homicide section has solved about half of this year's homicides, he said.
He anticipates that figure will rise with the additional personnel that have been brought in.
Knecht said communication is paramount to both solving and preventing crimes, something that can only be done by engaging Edmonton's diverse communities.
"Without it, we're really on our own and we're going to be extremely ineffective," he said.
One of those groups is the Somali community, which has been disproportionately affected by murders in the past four years.
Somali-Canadian organization leaders have long called for the police department to actively recruit officers who are from the community, can speak the language and will help build trust.
Knecht said the department is on its way to making that a reality.
"I was informed just today that we are looking at a specific individual who could be joining the Edmonton Police Service from the Somali community," he said, but stopped short of giving a more definitive timeline, saying it depends on many factors.
"But it's something we obviously want to do, I think it's important to do."
Overall, he said, crime in the city has seen a decrease in recent years and the challenge will be maintaining that trend while officers are reassigned to help with homicide cases.
"Of course one of my concerns ... is that we don't water down the good work we're doing in other areas," he said.
"Edmonton is a safe community -people don't have to worry. But the numbers are somewhat intimidating when people start saying 25 homicides.
"It's a high number." But with just one week as chief under his belt, he said it's still too early to tell whether the department, which spends slightly more than $300 million a year, needs a budget increase.
"What I'm trying to do right now is find out what the issues are, what the resourcing issues are.
"If we need more resources, obviously, I'm going to be a proponent for getting more resources for the police service," Knecht said, adding his first priority is to ensure the department operates effectively and efficiently.
Ultimately, he said, it's important for police to be as transparent with the public as possible, even in situations where they've erred.
"I think the public is very forgiving of the police when we make an honest mistake and are open and transparent about it," he said.
"We only function if we're credible and the public trusts us. Our credibility is everything."