Community update: Discarded needles

Recently a neighbour reported finding discarded needles in and around our community hall and King Edward School’s field. This is not a pleasant thing for anyone to come across, and certainly cause for concern with so many active users of the parkland around our hall and this part of the neighbourhood. Our community league is responding, which is what we’d like to update you on.

First, we’ve been in contact with King Edward School, the City of Edmonton, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS), the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, and Boyle Street Outreach Services. We are not the first neighbourhood to be dealing with needles, so it’s been helpful to reach out in multiple conversations for some best practices.

The Edmonton Police Service and city Parks department have both offered to increase their presence and the ways they can respond to the park areas around our hall and King Edward School. You will likely soon notice “EPS Agent Status” stickers at our hall and property which is a way to allow officers to respond, and enter our hall, with fewer barriers. We hope to continue discussions with the EPS and Parks staff to find ways to include these public spaces in more patrols.

We are following up with Boyle Street’s outreach services to see if needle disposal boxes are a good fit for our hall. If that’s determined to be the case you may soon spot one or more at our hall or around the parks here in the north-central area of Strathcona.

Our summer Pop-Up Play program continues unabated. This, and overall use of our public spaces (including our still new-ish spray park) is the best way to create the kind of community we want to live in. The more positive activity, the more neighbours enjoying our space, the more likely we are to spark more of the same.

It can be frustrating when neighbours call police or other City departments and get left on hold or don’t see a response. This is something we will continue to raise with all parties involved in the safety of our public spaces. We do still encourage you to contact the proper authorities if you encounter situations you feel are unsafe. The following are some of the better ways to do just that.

What to do if you find a needle

If you find discarded needles phone 3-1-1 to report their location for pick-up. This can be helpful in another way as 311 calls are documented by the City and can inform larger strategies undertaken by our municipal government.

You can also phone Edmonton Fire Rescue Services at 780-496-3900, as they are responsible for clean-up of needles.

You do not have to pick up needles yourself. If you do want to, please follow the City’s “Safe Needle Disposal” tips.

Reporting and documenting suspicious activity

If you seen anyone or anything you consider suspicious, or criminal, please phone the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) at 9-1-1 or the non-emergency line at 780-423-4567. Phoning the non-emergency line and confirming that your call has been recorded with a complaint number means the report will be on file, which can help EPS determine where to deploy officers in the future.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact a board member. And, of course, we are always looking for interested volunteers to help craft policies and create activities and projects to make our community a better, safer, more enjoyable place to live for everyone. If you’re interested in helping please also contact a board member to find out ways you can volunteer.