As municipal officials grapple with concerns over Edmonton's surging homicide rate, the city's mayor and social agencies say they have a key role to play in curbing the violence.

Edmonton has recorded 33 homicides in 2011, the highest of any Canadian city and up from 27 in all of 2010.

Police and city staff have said they can't find a common thread among the cases. But at a news conference Monday to outline a strategy to combat the attacks, Mayor Stephen Mandel acknowledged that one factor has come to his attention.

"Sixty per cent of those who have suffered through the homicide, at some point in time were touched with… homeless[ness] through one of the shelters in the city," Mandel said. "And I think that really brought it home that it's all about our city and society and societal challenges."

At least seven of the homicide victims were living on the streets at the time of their deaths.

Janvier, seen in a photo displayed at the memorial, was attacked while sleeping on a bench. CBC

Eric Dexter Janvier, 44, was napping outside a downtown drop-in centre on July 30 when he was killed. He was just days away from getting a shelter bed through the centre, Boyle Street Community Services, but it was closed that Saturday — as it is every weekend during the summer because of a lack of funds.

Executive director Julian Daly said Janvier would be alive today if Boyle Street had the resources to stay open every day. "Dexter died, in my view, because he was homeless."

"It's a call for all of us to begin to find ways to deal with these challenges and those people who have been marginalized by society," Mandel said.

Money needed

The agencies that help people on the city's margins say it's largely a question of money.

Organizations like the Youth Emergency Shelter Society — which runs a shelter for people aged 15 to 18, offers recreational activities and supports youth in finding jobs, schooling and housing — can prevent violent crime before it happens, says the society's associate executive director, Sue Keating.

"There's a whole subculture on the street where people are just more at risk," Keating said. "A big part of the problem is that the agencies that deal proactively with the situations — you know, it's always better to prevent a problem than to react to it — I think that a lot of us struggle just to keep our doors open due to funding."

Her shelter has nearly two dozen beds for people who leave troubled and dangerous homes. But Keating said that's not enough for everyone who comes for help, leaving some in peril on the street.

Details of the Edmonton Police Service's strategy to reduce violent crime will be released Wednesday.

At Monday's announcement of the plan, Police Chief Rod Knecht said it would focus on four areas: alcohol, weapons, catching criminals when they're on the move and social disorder. The first stages are to be launched within the next eight weeks.