Western Standard - May 09, 2023


UCP vows to put ankle bracelets on violent offenders out on bail in Alberta

Mentioned
Dale McPhee Edmonton Fentanyl
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Episode Stats


Length

5 minutes

Words per minute

162.73

Word count

955

Sentence count

59

Harmful content

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Learn English with Jason Kenney. In this episode, Alberta s premier announces the United Conservative Party's Safe Streets Action Plan, a comprehensive set of measures to restore safety to Alberta's cities, communities, and public transit.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Almost every day, Albertans wake up to news that someone in their city or community has been attacked, or even worse.
00:00:08.360 Just yesterday, Edmonton Police Chief Dale McPhee spoke about the horrific murder of a mother and her 11-year-old child in broad daylight.
00:00:17.820 Chief McPhee expressed great frustration that the accused was well-known to police, having a history dating back to 2009 that included multiple charges.
00:00:27.160 Victims of crime are people's daughters, sons, parents, friends, and loved ones.
00:00:32.640 And most often, the perpetrators of these crimes have been released on bail.
00:00:36.860 Some, multiple times.
00:00:38.940 In Edmonton in the last two years, 26 homicides were committed by criminals out on bail.
00:00:44.820 And in Calgary, 23 of the 45 people charged with homicide in 2021, 2022, and 2023 so far were out on bail.
00:00:54.200 Seven of those were bound by firearms prohibitions.
00:00:58.460 The liberal NDP soft on crime approach is costing lives.
00:01:02.040 And Albertans and all Canadians deserve better.
00:01:06.340 The United Conservative Party stands with our provincial partners demanding the federal government end the system of catch and release, plaguing our communities and reform our bail system.
00:01:16.280 Voices in Alberta and Canada are growing stronger.
00:01:19.960 However, momentum for change is building.
00:01:22.740 And I'm here to tell you, enough is enough.
00:01:27.760 We will not wait on the federal government.
00:01:30.240 We will take action to ensure Albertans feel safe again.
00:01:33.100 And we will do whatever it takes to ensure they do.
00:01:36.080 So today, I'm announcing the United Conservative Party's Safe Streets Action Plan.
00:01:41.000 A comprehensive set of measures to restore safety to Alberta's cities, communities, and public transit.
00:01:47.060 This plan will crack down on criminals with ankle bracelet monitoring of dangerous offenders out on bail and deploying sheriffs to monitor them.
00:01:55.220 It will mean 100 more patrol officers on the streets.
00:01:58.080 Brand new anti-fentanyl and anti-gun tracking teams.
00:02:01.200 As well as more funding for internet, child exploitation, and gang suppression units.
00:02:06.900 It will also make it easier for moms and dads to know the whereabouts of violent and sexual offenders and make investments in women's shelters and sexual assault counselling.
00:02:18.000 The Safe Streets Action Plan will build on some of the United Conservative government's successes in keeping our streets and communities safe.
00:02:24.920 In early February, we deployed the Alberta sheriffs to Edmonton and Calgary to work alongside the Edmonton and Calgary Police Services to respond to crime and social disorder.
00:02:36.180 In the first weeks of the pilot programs in Alberta's major cities, more than 4,500 outstanding arrest warrants were executed.
00:02:42.380 And close to 400 charges were laid.
00:02:44.720 That's why a re-elected UCP government will extend the pilot projects to the end of the year and beyond that if necessary.
00:02:50.920 Having more boots on the ground, patrolling our streets and communities is working.
00:02:57.700 And we know that more boots on the ground are needed to continue protecting Albertans.
00:03:01.880 Which is why our United Conservatives will keep our commitment at 100 more officers to help Edmonton and Calgary address chronic and worsening crime, particularly in downtowns and on transit.
00:03:12.140 Their sole duty will be to patrol streets to ensure people are protected.
00:03:15.500 And we know Alberta sheriffs have the skills and ability to further help in the protection of Alberta families and the safety of Alberta streets.
00:03:23.320 And that's why, in addition to extending the pilot project, we'll expand the use of Alberta sheriffs in the 24-7 bail monitoring process for higher risk offenders released on bail.
00:03:34.280 With the assistance of the Alberta sheriffs, we will ensure that criminals out on bail when they shouldn't be have more eyes on them.
00:03:41.820 There is no free pass in Alberta.
00:03:43.600 And to better monitor violent or sexual offenders out on bail, a re-elected UCP government will provide ankle bracelets.
00:03:51.460 A re-elected United Conservative government would establish specialized sheriff-led anti-fentanyl and anti-gun trafficking units to target illegal supplies coming across the U.S. border.
00:04:05.340 Fentanyl is a scourge on our families and our communities.
00:04:08.340 Alberta has a world-leading approach to addictions and mental health.
00:04:12.940 And the United Conservative Party is here for any Albertan trapped in a deadly and destructive spiral so that they can heal and reach their full potential.
00:04:20.540 But we need to be able to stop drugs before they reach Alberta's streets.
00:04:25.520 And that's why these units are so crucial.
00:04:27.460 Specialized teams have the ability to focus on a single priority instead of being pulled in multiple directions.
00:04:33.620 And that's why United Conservatives are also committed to increased funding for specialized gang suppression units through the Alberta law enforcement response teams or ALERT.
00:04:43.420 Because gang violence isn't just a threat to individuals.
00:04:46.160 It's a threat to our communities and to our children.
00:04:48.500 As part of this increased funding, the UCP will look to create a provincial cybercrime unit, a provincial DNA lab, and help ALERT increase its monitoring of expensive catalytic converter thefts, which is increasingly used to fund gang activity.
00:05:03.540 And will provide additional funding to ALERT's Internet child exploitation team to ensure fewer children are victimized and offenders are brought to justice.
00:05:12.140 Albertans should be able to walk downtown and walk in their communities without having to look over their shoulders.
00:05:19.260 This is non-negotiable.
00:05:21.240 And we have a right to take public transit without fear of crime and open-air drug use.
00:05:26.400 We will address gang violence, expand access to mental health and addiction treatments, and keep violent and sexual offenders off our streets.
00:05:34.620 We are putting criminals on notice that ALERTans will no longer tolerate being harassed and frightened or victimized. 0.67
00:05:41.420 We will do whatever it takes for Albertans to feel safe on their streets, in their homes, in their communities, and riding public transit, period.
00:05:48.880 And the United Conservative Party's Safe Streets Action Plan will do just that.