Community safety bureau will ease pressure on front-line officers, police chief says

Edmonton's police chief has launched a new community safety and well-beingunit to reduce demand on service.

The bureau will focus on easing pressure onfront-line officers and investigative services while diverting people from thejustice system, Chief Dale McFeetold the police commission Thursday.

"We need a group that's working upstream on community safety and well-being, taking stuff out of the system," McFee said. "Policecontrol all intake into the justice system. Nothing comes into the justice system without going through the hands of police. We need to sort intake better."

• Edmonton's 23rd police chief lays out vision at swearing-in ceremony

McFee emphasized that police would not let upon crimeand gangs. But he said abetter way is needed to deal with growing calls for service involving non-criminal matters, such as mental health incidents or public intoxication.

"Today we've been mostly relentless over here, and the feeder system or the intake of the system is overwhelmed," he said. "That keeps growing because the marginalized component, the vulnerable, the poverty, the trauma is growing and we have no way of turning down the taps."

As an example, McFeepointed to the disproportionate number of calls for service in Edmonton involving crystal meth.

"So there are two ways to deal with that," he said. "You can deal with an enforcement modeland arrest everybody that hasmeth and is using it, but they're addicted. And if you don't deal with that, on this end at the same time, all you're doing is going to disproportionately put people in the justice system."

Instead, he said, an enforcement strategy that simultaneously tackles addiction is needed.

• Reports of crystal meth use triple among addictions clients, AHS says
• 'Is the community ready for it?' Incoming Edmonton police chief lauds innovative policing strategy

It's an underlying approach McFeeis known for internationallyas one of the architects of a crime-fighting strategyknown as the Hub model, which he launched in 2011 aspolice chief in Prince Albert, Sask.

The model is based on amulti-agency intervention that mobilizes social services for people at elevated risk before harm is done or a crime is committed.

The Hubmodel has since spread to 140 locations, from British Columbia to Prince Edward Island and Massachusetts.

On Thursday, McFee praised the depth and talent of his police service but said restructuring would get the talent to the right areas to make the biggest impact. The new unit will be led by a deputy chief.

McFee noted Edmonton has the second worst crime rate in the country.

"We can change that," he said. "But you have to have a mechanism and a structure that can lead that change."

andrea.huncar@cbc.ca

@andreahuncar