The Edmonton Police Service’s (EPS) Guns and Gangs Strategy 2023-2025 is a plan to address firearm and gang violence in Edmonton. This plan considers the unique factors driving serious crime in the city, identifying key focus areas that require increased and sustained effort to reduce victimization and improve community safety.

The strategy leverages EPS’ internal expertise and external partnerships with other enforcement and social agencies to strike a balance between education, suppression, intervention, and prevention. It encompasses immediate and long-term solutions that both hold those perpetrating violence accountable and lead willing individuals away from gang association.

Principles

• Education: providing training awareness, and support to build system-wide capacity within EPS and the community to successfully reduce gun and gang activity
• Suppression: reduce the sources of gun and gang violence or activities
• Intervention: intervene where gun and gang violence or activity occurs or is expected to occur
• Prevention: prevent gang membership and gun violence before it happens

Focus areas

• Focused deterrence: take proactive actions to persuade frequent violent offenders to exit the criminal lifestyle
• Investigative excellence: conduct high-quality investigations that lead to swift and certain justice
• Young people intervention: divert young people away from gangs and the justice system

How we’ll know it’s working

The overall goal of the strategy is to reduce gun and gang activity in Edmonton, in turn increasing the safety of our communities. These are the measures EPS will use to determine success:

• Increased solve rate on non-homicide gang-related shooting occurrences
• Increased rate of convictions for users of firearms, drug traffickers, and firearm traffickers
• Decreased proportion of gang-related homicides
• Decreased rate of growth for firearms-related offences
• Increased number of known gang members that participate in EPS recommended diversion and gang-exit programs
• Increased grant funds for municipal, community, and social support partners to provide recreation, support, and mentorship programs for youth
• Increased proportion of young people put through out-of-court programs versus criminally charged