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By Justin Goulet/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Alberta

New units formed under ALERT to address gang violence in Alberta

Mar 9, 2023 | 2:30 PM

EDMONTON, AB – The Alberta government has announced an initiative aimed at tackling gang violence.

The province said gang activity has been steadily rising, with 126 shootings reported in Calgary in 2022. That is an increase of 30 per cent over the previous year.

The latest provincial budget includes an investment of $4.4 million to combat violence by creating a Gang Suppression Unit and a Firearms Investigative Unit under the umbrella of Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT).

Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services said, “We are putting gangs on notice: illegal gun violence and crime will not be tolerated.”

He added that Calgarians deserve to feel save in their community, but the province knows “that these criminals will stretch this kind of violence beyond those municipal borders.”

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Ellis said, “This approach brings together the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources to combat organized and serious crime.”

Members of the Gang Suppression Unit will work to identify and suppress gang and illegal firearm violence, support the work that is being done by the Firearms Investigative Unit, and identify those at risk of being victims or perpetrators of gun violence.

Both of the new units will work with the Calgary Police Service, the RCMP, Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta and the firearms lab.

Superintendent Marc Cochlin, the chief executive officer of ALERT said, “The strength of ALERT is its integrated policing model.”

He added, “This funding announcement bolsters our ability to work in tandem with our policing partners to investigate and prevent gang and firearms-related violence in Calgary and the surrounding area. ALERT has a long-standing history of success, and these new dedicated enforcement teams will provide a mix of covert and overt resources towards ensuring a fulsome and complete approach to making our community safe.”

ALERT was established in 2006 and since then, the province noted that the organization has arrested more than 11,500 people, laid over 35,000 charges, seized more than 1,700 illegal firearms and about $970 million in drugs.