A security hub situated in Edmonton’s downtown will soon be closing its doors with some members of the community expressing concern and hopeful that the City along with Edmonton police and social agencies might be able to keep it alive to ensure businesses and the community as a whole feels safe downtown.
The Healthy Streets OPerations Centre (HSOC) is scheduled to close it’s doors at the end of the year according to City of Edmonton officials.
The HSOC, located at 98 STreet and 107 Avenue has operated for the last two years in Edmonton’s downtown core as a pilot project that was funded by Edmonton city council back in 2022 when %15.2 million was invested in the safety hub.
The agency includes peace officers, police officers, paramedics, firefighters, Alberta sheriffs, and community safety liaisons who work as a team to combat crime and disorder in Edmonton’s downtown , Chinatown along with the Kingsway area.
According to concerned community members in the downtown core, the program was considered a “band aid” solution at the time, but members of Edmonton’s downtown organizations were hoping to see it continue.
Throughout it’s term a reduction in severe crimes was seen, along with lower numbers of ambulance calls as paramedics and police were on site. However, other non-violent crimes seen as spike,
Coun. Anne Stevenson, Ward O-day’min in Edmonton’s downtown says that with he mixed results seen, there wasn’t a sufficient enough argument to keep the program running. Stevenson also said that at that time, it was a much needed resource.
The 18 peace officers that were committed to the project will now be deployed in other areas of the city.
Edmonton Police Human-centred Engagement and Liaison Partnership Unit (HELP) team and other specialized police group will remain in place according to EPS spokesperson Cheryl Voordenhout, along with EPS community safety teams which pairs officers with paramedics.
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