Tuesday, January 04, 2011
There were 27 homicides in the city over the year, and police solved 22 of them, for a clearance rate of 81 per cent. In 2009, investigators solved 66 per cent, and in 2008, it was 31 per cent.
Staff Sgt. Lorne Pubantz said the leap in solved homicides can’t be attributed to anything specific.
“We’ve been more successful this year than in the past, for sure,” he said. “This year, the evidence just presented itself.”
However, he said, a lack of gang killings in 2010, and the closed mouths and innocent victims that often accompany them, was good news for the homicide unit. Gang attacks are often opportunistic, impulsive crimes that happen in public places with a high chance of collateral damage, he pointed out.
That eight people were killed in their homes, allegedly by family members, could have also helped solve some cases.
“The unknown whodunit is not a factor. The suspect pool is often smaller,” he said.
In 2010, police laid seven murder charges against young offenders, those under 18 years old and another seven against 19-year-olds. In that group, two males, 17 and 19, were charged in two different homicides.
In 2009, four youths were charged with murder. No one under 18 was charged in 2008 and three young offenders were charged in both 2006 and 2005. The numbers have risen.
“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Sue Keating, opportunities manager at the Youth Emergency Shelter. “We will see more increases in those rates.”
Keating said there are fewer options for a growing number of high-risk youth on Edmonton streets. The shelter saw roughly 1,000 young people come through in 2007, and double that in 2010.
The criminal life attracts young people, particularly when they can make more money in the drug trade than a single parent can make working three jobs. Keating said youths are into harder drugs and are sometimes considered mental-health cases because of their drug use. In that situation, lost and clouded, teens are often found by predators who have uses for them.
“They become pawns in someone else’s war, in the gang environment,” Keating said. “It’s these kids who get the high-risk jobs. They’re not the ones calling the shots, but they’re the ones sent into harm’s way.”
As always, Pubantz pointed out, the EPS homicide unit does not solve murders in a vacuum.
“I always like to stress that we appreciate help from the public and the young officers on the street. Homicides are not solved exclusively by us.”
Pubantz pointed to the murder of Apichat Sudsaneh, 38, a Thai immigrant who was fatally stabbed while helping friends who had been randomly mugged on the sidewalk. Three men were soon charged, thanks to information from beat officers and tips from the public.
Eight of the homicides involved a gun, including the random shooting of 23-year-old Heather Rae Thurier at the Stadium LRT Station in May. In March, a disgruntled Great West Chrysler employee walked into the dealership and shot 39-year-old Garth Radons, a parts manager.
In June, a massive, deliberately set house explosion in north Edmonton killed four people, including the man police believe to be responsible for the blast.
The last two homicides of the year happened shortly before Christmas, when two infant boys were found dead at their father’s home. The father was subsequently charged.
In cities of comparable size, Ottawa had 10 homicides in 2010, Calgary had 15 and Winnipeg had 19.
Edmonton recorded its first homicide of 2011, a shooting, only three hours after the calendar turned over.
Source: Edmonton Journal