Officers on bike and on foot will be more visible in three downtown areas. (CBC)There will be a lot more police officers on foot and on bicycles in high-crime areas of downtown Edmonton.
The Edmonton Police Service has increased the number of beat officers in the downtown core, including 118th Ave. and 107th Ave., to 23 from nine.
"I'm very excited about it," said Insp. Dave Elanik of the downtown division. "We were able to do this now with the hiring of three recruit classes in 2009, [which] provided us with the resources to increase the number of beat members to what we always felt we needed."
The new assignments are aimed at increasing safety and security in areas where crime is a more serious problem.
"There was a period, either days or nights, when we didn't have coverage," Elanik said. "With the expanded beat program in downtown division, we'll now be able to provide that coverage day and night. Which will be quite noticeable to people living and working in the downtown core."
The new beat officers are permanent positions, Elanik said.
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