9620 - 103A AVENUE EDMONTON, ALBERTA CANADA T5H 0H7 PH: 780-421-3333 EDMONTON POLICE SERVICE www.edmontonpolice.ca Statement from Chief Rod Knecht May 25, 2018 Over the past seven and a half years, I’ve seen the Edmonton Police Service become, what I believe is, the best police service in North America. I’ve worked with an outstanding group of professionals, both sworn and civilian, that strive every day to make Edmonton the safest major city in Canada. As you all know, my contract ends on October 31, 2018. I released an internal message Wednesday afternoon to the entire Service, as I believed it was their right to hear first, directly from me, as opposed to learning of it on social media or otherwise. Given that any extension to my contract ultimately rests with the Edmonton Police Commission (EPC), I further wanted to respect their role of advising the community of the commencement of a search for the next Chief of Police. That occurred late yesterday morning. As has been reported previously, the Commission and I have discussed the possibility of an extension to my contract. I provided them with correspondence outlining the rationale for the necessary timeframe required to further develop several initiatives that I would have liked to bring to a place of stability. These include:      Setting up a Cyber Crimes Strategy and increasing Cyber Crime investigative capacity for the Service; Working with levels of government, philanthropists and the private sector in realizing a Community Wellness Centre; Ensuring the successful launch of the Operations and Intelligence Command Centre (OICC) for the second quarter of 2019; Seeing through two major capital projects including the Northwest Division Campus and new Administrative Building, during the first and second quarter of 2019; and, Mentoring senior leaders to better prepare them to compete for the Chief of Police in mid-2019. I also committed to assisting the EPC with the selection process for a new Chief of Police, which they anticipated to be up to a one-year process. I calculated that to best advance these initiatives, and assist with the selection of a new Chief, it would take until the end of June 2019. This date was initially accepted by the Chair and Vice-Chair of the EPC, the week of March 26, 2018. Following a Commission meeting a few weeks later, they came back with a proposed contract extension to the end of March 2019. While my preference would have been to stay to progress these initiatives sufficiently, I didn’t believe that a five-month extension was enough time to adequately address them. I also felt it wouldn’t be in the best interests of the organization or the community to leave in the midst of such significant organizational change given that adjusted time frame. No other options were provided by the EPC, and as a result, I will be completing my existing contract, which concludes at the end of October, 2018. Within the final five months of my contract, it is my intention to advance the Cyber Crime Strategy, continue work on the OICC, and continue to prepare the Service for Cannabis legalization. As well, I will work to prepare the organization for the transition to the next Chief of Police. I am extremely proud of the many achievements of the Edmonton Police Service throughout my time as Chief of Police and the positive community support that I have experienced. -30-