The downtown area has a number of vacant lots. These empty lots can quickly become a problem as they attract garbage, campsites, and drinking parties. The owners are then responsible to remove the garbage and repair damaged property. In many cases, when groups of people gather on these lots, it becomes a target environment for drug dealers or people looking for the opportunity to commit violent crimes. These lots become a place where criminal acts are conducted out of the eyes of the public.

The Community Liaison office sought the assistance of community partners in order to address the disorder and crime that arise out of having vacant unsecured lots. We can reduce the crime occurring on the lots by restricting or eliminating access to the lots.

Edmonton Bylaw assisted by providing a list of lots that are known to attract disorder or lots that have received numerous public complaints. The Community Liaison office then sought out companies in Edmonton that provide temporary fencing. We came in contact with Derrick Fencing & Port-A-Potty, a company who shares our vision of creating safe neighbourhoods. They agreed to provide temporary fencing at a very reasonable price.

Traditionally, vacant problem lots are dealt with by Bylaw. Bylaw generally enforces the garbage issues by way of tickets. We can now offer the owners a reasonably priced alternative. If the owners are interested, we ask them to contact Derrick Fencing & Port-A-Potty to make arrangements to have the lot fenced. The police then seek the permission of the owners to act as agents of their property for the purpose of issuing and enforcing bans. The police are then able to ban and remove any unauthorized users of the lot.

Once the unlawful use of the lots is eliminated, the goal then becomes one of turning the lot over to legitimate and lawful use. If the owners do not plan on developing the lots, we can start looking at alternative uses such as community gardens.

We currently have a number of lots that have erected fencing and that have granted agent status to the police. We have seen a drastic reduction in complaints and calls for service from those lots.

If you would like to make a report regarding vacant lots, please call 311 for bylaw issues or the Edmonton Police Service at (780) 423-4567. If you are interested in further information regarding the fencing project, I can be contacted at samuel.sanson@edmontonpolice.ca.