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We're Number One

Confirming what local residents have known for years, on July 20th, 2006 Statistics Canada released a report proclaiming Edmonton the murder capital of Canada.

The report cited that among cities of 500,000 or more, Edmonton led the nation in 2005 for the highest homicide rate in Canada, followed by Winnipeg and Vancouver.

In 2005, the city set an all-time record of 39 homicides – 44 when the total metro area is included » full details »

October 27th, 2006 - The Rise of Teen Violence

On October 20th, 2006 Russell Ross, a 52-year-old homeless man, was beaten by three teens in a downtown back alley. He died four days later from blunt head trauma.

Two 16-year-olds and a 14-year-old were each charged with three counts of assault causing bodily harm. Police, in consulation with the Crown, said the assault charges had the best chance for conviction.

The rising spectre of teen violence brought reaction from Alberta's top law enforcement official, Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko.

Reaction from Edmonton's top police officer after the beating death of Ross left no terms uncertain.

"Enough is enough," Chief Mike Boyd told a news conference » full details »

November 2006 - The CTV Edmonton Study

CTV Edmonton commissioned a poll to measure Edmontonian's attitudes and feelings toward crime.

The results were broadcast in a special report over two nights, hosted by Sheldon Larmand, and taking place during a Bureau of Broadcast Measurement ratings period.

The TeleResearch Inc. poll was conducted in the wake of seven murders that took place in October 2006 » full details »

December 6th, 2006 - Ending Teen Violence Forum

In the wake of the murders of Joshua Hunt, Evan Grykuliak and Dylan McGillis, CBC Radio hosted an open forum called Ending Teen Violence at Ross Sheppard Composite High School – where Grykuliak was a student.

The forum was attended by parents, educators, teen advocates, a number of students, mayor Stephen Mandel, police chief Mike Boyd and several members of Edmonton's legal community.

Also in attendance were two fathers who lost their teenaged sons to murder. Josh Hunt's father Gary and Shane Rolston's father Kelly helped put a face to the surviving victims of crime » full details »

February 11th, 2007 - The Capital Punishment Issue

A citizen's group from Calgary attended the trial of Michael Briscoe and Joseph Laboucan, charged with the first-degree murder of Nina Courtepatte.

The group said the appearance was part of their effort to lobby the federal government to reinstate the death penalty.

The occasion marked the first instance in recent time that the issue of capital punishment was raised in connection with Edmonton's murder problem » full details »

February 23rd, 2007 - Four Murders In Ten Days

The broad daylight slaying of a man on a sidewalk in downtown Edmonton was the third murder in a week, bringing the year's total to seven.

On February 21st police found David Wong being dismembered in a downtown apartment building.

On February 16th Chancely Devlin Simpson was found unconscious in a basement suite and died later in hospital.

The three deaths brought the 2007 homicide rate up to nearly a murder every eight days.

Two criminologists, the police chief and the mayor offered differing opinions and assurances about what was happenning.

As they made their remarks, the city's eighth homicide – that of Stephen Ferguson, had just taken place » full details »

March 10th, 2007 - A Silent March For Justice

Hundreds of Albertans whose lives have been touched by violence gathered in Edmonton's Sir Winston Churchill Square.

They had come together to collect signatures on petitions calling for stiffer penalties under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

For rally organiser Gary Hunt, the event was the culmination of six months of work collecting signatures and keeping the issue of what he felt was needed change to the Youth Criminal Justice Act before the public.

He said he had collected about 45,000 petition signatures to send to Ottawa after his 16-year-old son Josh was stabbed by a young offender at a Mill Woods house party » full details »

March 24th, 2007 - A Gathering of Angels

The last weekend of March 2007 had some Albertans seeing red as Angels appeared in the province's two largest cities.

As the American-based Guardian Angels graduated their first training class in Calgary and held an organisational meeting in Edmonton, two police chiefs and one mayor were less than welcoming the news of their arrival.

The citizen volunteer street patrol group had been eyeing chapters in both cities for some time. Now that they're up and running, many residents were asking what the Guardian Angels are all about and what their impact on local crime might be » full details »

May 5th, 2007 - Citizens' Rights Group Forms

They started with a prayer circle. They hoped to end with change so that others don't have to share in their loss.

Relatives and friends of Nina Courtepatte, Shane Rolston, Joshua Hunt, Dylan McGillis and Sara Easton, all teenagers killed in the Edmonton area in the past two years, gathered in the basement of Sacred Heart Church, 10821 96 Street.

Together they held the inaugural meeting of the Citizens' Rights Group, an organisation whose mandate is to lobby government for improvements to the criminal justice system » full details »

November 7th, 2007 - Bad Times Headed For Boomtown

News of high school-aged dial-a-dopers, human trafficking and a looming gang turf war highlighted a presentation made to media by the head of the Edmonton Police Service's Co-ordinated Crime Unit.

About 30 news personnel were given an inside look at police efforts to combat organised crime in the capital region during a sometimes graphic image-filled presentation made by EPS Staff Sgt. Kevin Galvin, a 21-year veteran of the force.

Galvin stated the province was the home of two dozen organised crime groups who have found enough room in an illicit economy to co-exist and co-operate peacefully » full details »

November 25th, 2007 - Calgary Is Starting To Catch The Edmonton Bug

Likening the assessment to a viral outbreak, the Edmonton Sun and a leading expert examined Alberta's murder rates as the end of 2007 approached.

"Organised crime is attracted to this economy like bees to honey," said criminologist Bill Pitt. "This is the calm before the storm" » full details »

Homicide 2007: Life And Death On Edmonton's Streets

With Edmonton's 2007 homicide case clearance rate hovering at just 38% (charges laid in only 12 murders, leaving 20 cases open), the question why in most of the year's murders must still wait for the answer only arrests and trials can provide. The Last Link looks back at a year on the streets » full details »

January 2nd, 2008 - Code of Silence and Gangster Lifestyle Headlines Story of 2007's Homicides

"When we know that they were present and they don't tell us information we get very frustrated. All that's required for evil to flourish is for one person to do nothing – for good people to do nothing."

"If you are not putting yourself into what we would call a high-risk lifestyle then your chances of being involved in a level of violence such as this is very minimal."

Those were the words of Staff Sgt. Lorne Pubantz, head of Edmonton's homicide unit, describing the common themes of year's murder story » full details »

February 1st, 2008 - Guns And Gangs Grip Mid-winter Edmonton

At a time when most Edmontonians were dealing with one of the coldest winters in a decade, Edmonton police were dealing with one of the most violent spells in recent memory.

January 2008 found authorities investigating numerous drive-by shootings and incidents of gang-related violence – while at the same time facing a wall of silence from possible witnesses and the public at large.

The matter came to a head when the Metro Edmonton Gang Unit called a press conference to calm citizen fears – and express the frustration of police efforts to quell a growing wave of gang-related violence » full details »

Homicide 2008: Life And Death On Edmonton's Streets

In a year when Edmonton's boomtown economy peaked and slid, the city's homicide rate maintained its ominous pace. Drug and gang connections figured in over a dozen of the 35 cases police dealt with, while most of the year's other murders seemed to be random acts of violence » full details »

Homicide 2009: Life And Death On Edmonton's Streets

Edmonton's 2009 murder meter officially rests at 27, the lowest annual total since 2003. One veteran police officer suggested the year's low murder rate was primarily a reflection of the skills of emergency medical workers. Homicide section leaders said the year's high case clearance rate of 67% was the result of innovation in how the city's murders are investigated » full details »

Homicide 2010: Life And Death On Edmonton's Streets

By all accounts, 2010 was a successful year for the city's homicide detectives. Of the year's 27 murders, only five remained unsolved, about half the number left on the table in 2009. While detectives held back on identifying specific cases of drug and gang-involvement, only five murders carried the spectre of lifestyle choice – a significant drop in numbers over past years » full details »

February 12th, 2011 - The Early-2011 Murder Rate

After just 38 days into 2011, Edmonton had already recorded seven homicides. At this rate, the city was set to register a year-end death toll of 68. Toronto, a city of 2.5 million people, had recorded just 10 murders at the time. Calgary had dealt with a pair while Vancouver had yet to see a homicide.

The numbers became headline fodder. While police viewed them as a statistical aberration that strained manpower, criminologists fell into two camps – with one comparing Edmonton's murder rate to the weather » full details »

deadmonton - why edmonton?

edmonton, alberta – the murder capital of canada