Neighbourhood Empowerment Team presentation at a policing conference
The Family Centre is part of Edmonton’s Neighbourhood Empowerment Team (NET), along with the City of Edmonton Community Services, Edmonton Police Service, and United Way of the Alberta Capital Region. This week our Andrew Pahl will be co-presenting with Sergeant Graham Blackburn from EPS and Kris Andreychuk from the City of Edmonton at the annual Problem-Oriented Policing Conference in Arizona. where they will be sharing experiences from their twenty-year collaborative relationship as the Neighbourhood Empowerment Team.
Neighbourhood Empowerment Teams are currently assigned to all six Edmonton divisions to help the community to reduce crime. A team can be made up of one or more City of Edmonton capacity builders, Edmonton Police Service constables, and/or youth liaisons from The Family Centre. Teams offer a mix of social, policing, and youth services to address a situation taking innovative, problem-solving approaches. Their particular focus is on break and enters, theft of vehicle, theft from vehicle, and assaults.
The teams work in Edmonton neighbourhoods for as long as required. Over the 20 years, NET has evolved significantly, often in surprising and unconventional ways, but the original vision of being innovative problem solvers continues to shape NET’s mission.