‘Some of the most unsafe environments I have seen’: Edmonton police chief calls for removal of encampments

Edmonton’s police chief says it’s necessary to take down a number of homeless camps because they’re dangerous.

With new conditions set in court this week, allowing police to move forward and shut down eight high-risk encampments, it leaves shelters preparing for a busy holiday season.

One of those conditions is ensuring there is adequate shelter space for people who would be displaced, but Susan McGee with Homeward Trust says that is difficult to ensure, saying shelter occupancy can change on a whim.

“When there is a significant number of folks who are accessing shelter in a short period of time, enough can be not enough very quickly,” said McGee.

She says right now, shelters have not been turning people away.

“The plans to open new spaces is moving ahead, and so having confidence that new spaces are coming. Having said that, the pace of which things like large encampments are being closed, and a lot of activity like that in a short amount of time, it’s really hard to say. And right now we have fairly warm weather, and that can change really quickly,” said McGee.

Homeward Trust found that as of Dec. 16, over 3,043 people are experiencing homelessness within the city. Of those, 670 are staying unsheltered, 534 are in shelters, and the rest are staying in unknown locations.

On the night of Dec. 17, 973 of the 1,142 funded shelter spaces were occupied.

In October, the province announced funding for 1,700 shelter spaces. Thursday morning, the Office of the Minister of Seniors, Community, and Social Services said the funding had made it to the shelters, noting 1,400 spaces have already opened in Edmonton, with the remaining spaces expected to open in the new year.

“Shelters in Edmonton are currently under-capacity and not turning people away. Our department watches shelter utilization numbers on a daily basis and if capacity becomes an issue, our government would take immediate action to make sure people are not turned away,” said the Office of the Minister of Seniors, Community, and Social Services.

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Meanwhile, Hope Mission says while it fluctuates, it currently has about 100 vacant spaces each night, but says many choose to sleep out in the cold elements, even if there is a bed available.

“Back in the summer we were seeing numbers higher than we’ve seen in our history. We’re continuing to see high numbers. We’re not overwhelmed. We do have some space available. We do currently offer 850 spaces overnight downtown between our two locations, we can also scale up those numbers if the need arises, the demand arises,” explained Tim Pasma, Director of Programs and Homelessness at Hope Mission.

“Sometimes people don’t feel safe in a shelter, or they don’t feel like their belongings are safe, or there are other challenges that they have. Those are all issues that we’re aware of and we really try to accommodate as many people as we can.”

That’s a choice former encampment resident Joshua Bell often made, opting to sleep outside.

“Is it dangerous? Damn right, it’s dangerous. It’s scary too, it can be very scary, but at the same time, it’s nowhere near what it’s perceived to be,” explained Bell.

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However, Edmonton’s police chief says the camps are some of the most unsafe places he’s seen.

“I’m telling you as the chief of police, those are some of the most unsafe environments I have seen, and I’ve been to a lot of places. So for me, it’s a focus on how do we get the help to the individuals?” asked Chief Dale McFee, Edmonton Police Services.

Joshua Bell says he disagrees with camps being taken down, saying there is a better way to manage crime.

“I don’t think just because, say there’s a criminal in that one tent, that all 30 tents got to go,” said Bell.

RELATED: ‘Unsafe’ homeless encampments must come down: Edmonton fire chief

From gang activity to fatal fires, and assaults, McFee says it’s difficult to make encampments throughout the city safe.

“If we can actually put them where there is bed space available, and make those spaces safe, it’s a lot easier to make something in place safe by putting the right security and people in there than it is to try to make fifteen hundred tents scattered across the city safe,” explained McFee.

“Then there’s people who say ‘well why don’t we deal with the gangs?’ There’s literally twelve, fifteen hundred tents all over the city now, and some of them have been moved by the gangs. Some of them have been burned out. If we can actually put them where there is bed space available, and make those spaces safe, its a lot easier to make something in place safe by putting the right security and people in there than it is to try to make fifteen hundred tents scattered across the city safe.”