Curb violence by restricting access to alcohol, Edmonton police suggest

EDMONTON -Edmonton police are considering restricting alcohol availability in the city’s most “distressed” communities in an effort to curb violent crime.

Addressing drug- and alcohol-related problems is one of four areas of focus in the department’s violence-reduction plan, which was unveiled by police Chief Rod Knecht in early August, deputy chief Neil Dubord said Wednesday.

“Some of the preliminary discussions that we’ve had around alcohol, and the research actually indicates (is) the restriction of alcohol in certain areas of a community may in fact assist in being able to reduce violence within that community,” Dubord said.

The police force is developing and researching ideas to control alcohol, and has met with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, the province’s liquor-control agency.

The AGLC said it would be open to our recommendations, Dubord said.

Police haven’t finalized the recommendations, he said, but the restriction would apply only to liquor vendors, not licensed bars and restaurants.

With 38 killings so far this year, Edmonton leads the nation with a homicide rate of about four per 100,000 people, compared with about three per 100,000 in 2010.

While Knecht has said the violence-reduction plan isn’t specifically aimed at reducing the city’s homicide rate, alcohol has been identified as a factor in many of this year’s killings.

“Our hope is to attack the problem at the root cause,” Dubord said.

Among the options police are evaluating is to limit operating hours for liquor stores in communities identified as “distressed,” Dubord said.

“It’s all a part of a bigger strategy ... if you reduce the availability of alcohol, then we ensure that we have the social services to come in on the back end and provide those people that are addicted to alcohol the services they need for alleviating that addiction,” he said.

Christine Wronko, a spokeswoman with the AGLC, said the agency had one “informal” meeting with police officials about reducing liquor store hours, but added that the request would have to come from the city to be put into effect.

Mayor Stephen Mandel isn’t sure restrictions on liquor outlets would be useful.

“It’s not the stores that are causing the problem, it’s the people drinking that are causing the problem. Until we change some of the (supports) for them, it will continue,” he said. “You’re just going to push it underground.”

Problem drinkers often also have drug addiction or mental health issues, so clamping down on liquor in a “tougher area” won’t eliminate trouble, Mandel said. These people will just end up going somewhere else to buy liquor.

“Let’s have a broad-based solution to the issue. The crime-reduction strategy the chief put forward, that we put forward, let’s see how it works.”

Dubord said police are looking to develop “best practices” for liquor vendors in the city, modelled after the Public Safety Compliance Team’s Best Bar None program.

Police also want to target products with a high alcohol content, such as malt liquor, that are typically sold in stores in “vulnerable” communities.

Police continue to research options, Dubord said, including looking at policies across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, that could be adapted for Edmonton.

Dubord said police hope to have long-term strategies for alcohol consumption in place by early 2012.