Police chief shines light on Edmonton’s meth problem

Edmonton city police Chief Dale McFee knows that right now, fentanyl and marijuana are the drugs grabbing most of the headlines.

But it’s another drug that has him concerned these days.

McFee at a Thursday police commission meeting once again raised concerns about the prevalence of crystal meth on Edmonton streets.

McFee said the drug is disproportionately showing up in calls for service — contrasting meth, a stimulant, with opioids like fentanyl, which are depressants and often make the user drowsy.

“You take (meth), you stay up sometimes for days, you go out,” McFee said. “You’re seeing high numbers of car chases, you’re seeing property crime, you’re seeing people drive out to rural communities.

“We need a … public health and law enforcement response to this, and we also need a community response on how we’re going to deal with this.”

McFee did not provide any statistics on seizures or arrests involving meth, but said criminal incidents where meth was a factor saw a “serious upswing” in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, the Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement Section (EDGE) seized 6.9 kg of meth, down from 11 kg the year before.

Other agencies and police services in western Canada have also sounded the alarm.

Last October, several police chiefs in Alberta and Saskatchewan told Canadian Press that low-cost meth was supplanting more expensive opioids in their jurisdictions.

Calgary police dealt with 412 meth-related incidents in the first 11 months of 2018, up from just 47 during the same period in 2013.

Winnipeg’s health authority, meanwhile, saw a 1,200 per cent increase in hospitalizations involving meth between April 2013 (when there were 12) and the same month in 2018 (when there were 218).

It was the same story in Saskatchewan, added McFee, who was chief of the Prince Albert Police Service before becoming a deputy minister in that province.

McFee said police are starting to meet with community groups and public health officials to map out a meth strategy.

He’s also contacted Statistics Canada to see what it has for data on the problem.

“What is the balanced response to this?” he said. “Because we all know that police can’t solve the crystal meth problem.”

He added any plan that doesn’t address addictions treatment will fail.

“I think we realize that this isn’t something we should take six months to do — let’s get on it,” McFee said. “Because people are hurting people and ultimately people die as a result of this, so it’s something that we want to make a priority.”

— with files from Canadian Press

jwakefield@postmedia.com

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