Cops and transit security join forces to clean up Coliseum LRT station
Scott McKeen
The Edmonton Journal
Monday, March 03, 2008
There is no single reality.
Tonight I'm getting a glimpse into other ones -- ones I wish didn't exist. I'm at the Coliseum LRT station, witnessing a joint undercover operation of police and transit security staff.
I see a man in handcuffs, braying with outrage and alcoholic breath at his new reality. I see three hapless kids stuff booze bottles into their clothing, unaware of the security camera's telescopic gaze.
I see a group of apprentice gangsters passing around a drug pipe. I see another group prepare to light a joint, right in front of a undercover cop.
I see how most of these teenage kids carry themselves in a manner that is almost comical. He's a "gangsta". She's a "ho".
Except it's not funny. Who knows what kind of hell waits at home for these kids, who hide their wounds behind affected ghetto fashion, threatening gazes and intoxicants.
Why Coliseum station? Turns out that the very qualities that make LRT attractive to good citizens, make it attractive to petty criminals, youth-gang members, addicts and drunks. LRT is cheap, relatively speaking. And it gets you from point A to point B easily and quickly.
For the members of Edmonton's burgeoning underworld, point A is often some dark corner downtown. Point B is some sketchy 'hood around the LRT's northern route.
Coliseum station is the main port of call for this, the minor leagues of criminality. Some jump off here to do business with the local retail trade of drugs, alcohol or sex. But a lot of so-called "at-risk" teens meet up with their ilk to hang around the Coliseum's concrete halls and platforms.
Transit systems in all major cities are always at risk of a criminal infestation. Riders will abandon subways and buses in droves if they feel insecure or intimidated.
That's why we're here tonight. Police, along with the peace officers of Edmonton Transit, are turning the tables by bringing some insecurity and intimidation to the people who specialize in it.
The joint operation involves uniformed security staff, led by Stewart Wells, along with a handful of jeans-and-hoodies undercover cops. Back at transit headquarters, Ken Mills is manoeuvring Coliseum station's bank of roving, zooming security cameras.
Over recent years, transit security has kept detailed records and reports of every incident and every perpetrator. Their records are so good they know when and where each week to look for trouble.
Mills' job tonight is to watch for high-profile targets -- some have 100 or more incidents on their transit record -- and point the undercover cops in their direction. If all goes well, the perp will do something stupid, allowing the cops to lay a criminal charge.
Or the target might have outstanding warrants. That's the case with the braying man in handcuffs. He's earned a trip to jail, all because he originally lit a cigarette on the LRT platform.
In this operation, Mr. Loudmouth is a major bust. They've only arrested a half-dozen people on mischief charges to date.
But that's not the point. The point is to get on top of even the most minor infractions and write tickets. Someone puts their feet up on an LRT seat. Ticket. Smoking in the station. Ticket. Public urination. Ticket. Swearing. Ticket.
The idea is that people who ignore the basic rules tend to ignore the laws of the land. Let them get away with the small stuff and next they'll be robbing you of your wallet or iPod.
So far, the operation has issued more than 250 tickets. It's also flushed out 100 outstanding warrants. Two knives, a screwdriver and a can of bear spray were seized, along with a hall party's worth of booze and a bit of weed.
The police are here, in part, because they're regularly being called to Coliseum station. Transit security staff are now highly trained and carry batons.
But cops are often necessary because peace officers can't lay criminal charges and can't access police computers to identify an unco-operative offender.
Yet reducing police calls for service isn't the point, either. The ultimate aim is to reinforce the rules, reduce the amount of disorder and claim the transit service for law-abiding citizens.
My kids ride these trains. They transfer at Coliseum station. So I'm grateful to the men and woman of this operation.
At the end of the evening I sit with Mills in his downtown office, watching him flick between the station's security cameras. He stops on the group of kids caught earlier with the joint.
The camera zooms in on two teenagers who were strutting their gangsta stuff a few minutes ago. Their eyes are wide. They're sitting upright, hands in lap, answering questions and nodding politely. They look like frightened little boys.
Call it a dose of reality. Ours, not theirs.
[email protected]
© The Edmonton Journal 2008
Prev
. And there's not just 1 consultant involved. Trust me, the consultants are advising City Administration that the piece-meal LRT planning will not work, they have to think big (ie. how to maximize the development of infrastructure, combine road / LRT bridges, etc).
Linear Mode
