The Winner of the Challenge is the Macewan! Congratulations!!!
And a huge congratulations to all the individuals and teams that participated in this challenge. It was a tough process for the judges to select the winner.
A strategy to combat liquor store thefts entered by MacEwan University has been selected from more than 220 entries to go to a field trial of the first-ever challenge to be analyzed by the Edmonton Police Foundation’s new Community Solutions Accelerator (CSA).
“It gives me great pride to announce that the most promising idea came from our own city, a team from the MacEwan University Social Innovation Institute,” says Ashif Mawji, Chair of the Edmonton Police Foundation. “We’re excited to test a home-grown concept, which was selected out of 222 other submissions from around the world, to try and help decrease liquor store theft while increasing community safety in our city and far beyond.”
Through an analysis of the liquor store theft and robbery crisis in Alberta, the MacEwan bid identified that an effective intervention point to deter thefts is at the point of resale. This approach targets those restaurants, bars and nightclubs who purchase stolen liquor so they can resell to an unsuspecting public. The premise of the Edmonton proposal suggests if criminals lose the market for their stolen liquor then they will have less reason to steal liquor from stores.
The Social Innovation Institute proposed the development and implementation of a high-profile awareness campaign, the use of hidden tracking devices in bottles, and a whistle-blower cash prize targeted at restaurant employees who tip off police about their establishments buying stolen liquor. The purpose of all these measures is to cause those bars, restaurants, and nightclubs now purchasing stolen liquor to be fearful of being caught and prosecuted, which could have a significant negative effect on their business and the loss of their liquor license and/or criminal charges. The campaign will also focus on educating the public about the issue, giving them a sense of responsibility and inclusion in the solution.
