Physical distancing violations lead to dozens of tickets in Edmonton

Edmonton police have issued dozens of tickets to people for violating public health orders about physical distancing or mass gatherings.

The pandemic also has police dealing with more mental-health calls, as numbers shot up by 20 per cent during the period of self-isolation.

Those were some of the details that emerged at a virtual police commission meeting Thursday, where Supt. Dean Hilton outlined the impact coronovirus is having on policing.

Since March 20, the Public Health Compliance Team has responded to 820 calls, an average of just over 100 per week.

Most of the 76 tickets handed out were related to mass gatherings or failures to maintain physical distance, Hilton said.

The fines startat $1,000, and go up to a maximum of $500,000. But police say the majority of tickets issued were for about$1,200 as they continue to focus on educating the public about existing health orders.

Police are asking Edmontonians to use 311 to report violations of physical distancing guidelines or mass gathering rules, or to contact environmental public health for concerns related to businesses.

Mental health calls up

Between March 16 and April 12, police received 258 calls related to mental health. From April 13 to May 10, the number of calls was 309.

"The longer this goes, there is an expectation this will continue to grow," said police Chief Dale McFee. "I think it is one of the things that we will be most impacted by post COVID."

McFee said mental health and addictions were significant concerns in Edmonton before the pandemic hit, and police were already working on a number of initiatives.

• Tickets issued for breaking COVID-19 related orders in Edmonton

While violent crime is down, Hilton said, assaults are slightly up, which he partly attributed to domestic violence. Police are working closely with the city and provincial agencies to encourage people to report domestic violence.

With students no longer in class where schools can monitor for signs of abuse, resource officers have been redeployed into teams to takecalls from schools, teachers and administrators with any concerns.

As encampments pop up around Edmonton as the weather warms up, Hilton said one officer is working with the city and shelters.

"We do have a number of complaints going through 311 around tents and a number of investigations open," Hilton said.

He said police have cleaned up problem camps reported by trail users while ensuring people in those camps are aware of available supports.

There has been a decline in the rates of violent crime and liquor store thefts in the past couple of months. A lack of priority calls has also allowed officers to focus more time on making arrests for property crimes, Hilton said.

'Recipe for disaster'

McFee said police are still seeing speeds of a "ridiculous manner" on roads. Between March 21 and May 19, police caught 154 drivers going 50 km/h or more over the speed limit. The highest excessive speed was 114 km/h over the limit.

• Fewer drivers on Edmonton streets but they're speeding more than before, city says

EPS is sending a letter to the transportation minister asking for legislative changes that would allow officers to use their discretion when seizing vehicles going 50 kilometres over the speed limit.