Most Edmontonians think police doing good job overall: CityNews poll
Posted October 28, 2025 5:14 pm.
Last Updated October 28, 2025 5:15 pm.
Edmonton police got a good report card from the citizens they serve, according to a new CityNews poll.
The Canada Pulse Insights poll commissioned exclusively for CityNews suggests there’s strong approval for the Edmonton Police Service and its new Chief Warren Driechel, with a high degree of public confidence in the city’s front-line officers.
Overall, 86 per cent of Edmontonians approve of the choice of Driechel, who was named the police force’s 24th chef last month, following the retirement of former Chief Dale McFee.
And nearly eight-in-10 (78 per cent) of the 423 Edmontonians polled say front-line police officers are doing a good job for the city.
READ: Edmonton’s overall crime rate dropped 6% in 2024: police
“The EPS appreciates the community’s perspective and the overall positive sentiment from Edmontonians reflected in this survey,” the EPS told CityNews in a statement.
And while most respondents (60 per cent) said they feel safe walking in their own neighbourhoods at night, there were some areas to work on – namely safety on transit.
Feeling unsafe on public transit
Seventy-three per cent of those polled say are afraid of becoming victims of violence on public transit.
“You never know, in public transit, there’s always, not always, but usually, an incident with somebody freaking out over nothing,” Edmontonian Wayne McKenzie told CityNews.
The EPS told CityNews it acknowledges there is “still much work to be done.”
“Particularly on transit and in central Edmonton, where disorder and violent incidents continue to significantly impact the perception of safety,” the statement reads.
“These incidents have a profound effect on overall community wellbeing and on how safe our communities feel. As such, the EPS will continue its proactive policing efforts in these areas and citywide and is committed to working closely with our government and community partners to respond to citizen concerns, address conditions on our streets and manage the criminal precursors to much of the disorder we see.”
Edmontonians also expressed growing concern about police response times. More than seven-in-10 (72 per cent) of residents worry police response times would be too slow if they ever needed assistance. Based on personal experience, 38 per cent of residents rated the police’s response time as “bad” or “terrible.”
Edmontonians polled were asked to rank their top three concerns for police enforcement. Drug activity (41 per cent), homicides (35 per cent), and gang violence (32 per cent) were identified as the top three priorities. They were followed by home invasions or robberies (29 per cent), assaults (27 per cent), gun violence (23 per cent), and human trafficking (20 per cent).
“Hope he (Driechel) does something about the homeless,” said McKenzie. “And just walking there, that girl smoking crack or whatever, right there, out by the bank machine, out in the open. Nobody does nothing.
“Got to do something. People don’t want to go downtown. They’re scared.”
Offenders on bail
The poll also found residents want stricter policies on repeat offenders released on bail.
Eighty-nine per cent feel too many violent offenders are being released on bail, and 92 per cent say those who re-offend while on bail should be jailed without release until trial.
Nearly eight-in-10 (79 per cent) believe youth involved in violent or menacing crimes should be tried as adults.
But a majority also said they want the police to continue what they’re doing without spending more money.
Police budget
About half (49 per cent) believe Edmonton’s police budget should be held at current levels but be more efficient. Forty-three per cent say funding should increase, while eight per cent support a budget cut – with savings redirected to other services.
“They should spend more money on police,” said Edmonton’s Ola Dalamola. “Because they are doing good job. The job is not easy. At least they do 24 hours around work. So they should spend more on them.”
“Probably more,” said McKenzie. “But they got to do more, not just walk by people openly breaking the law, smoking drugs on transit, in transit stations, on the street.”
“Probably the same,” said Chase Foley. “I mean, the city feels pretty safe. It’s a busy city, there’s always police around.”
“Obviously there’s crime everywhere in the city,” said Melua Chandler, who lives in southwest Edmonton. “I think they’re doing as best as they can with what they’re being given.”
The poll also found a majority people surveyed (61 per cent) want more photo radar cameras, especially near schools. It also found 71 per cent agree police have done a good job managing recent protests.
–With files from Lauren Boothby
The CityNews–Canada Pulse Insights online poll was conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 among a random selection of 423 members of the Sago online panel living in Edmonton. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size would have a margin of error of 4.8%, 19 times out of 20.
