The city’s top cop said 2025 delivered strong results on several fronts but also brought new challenges, after what he called an epic year for crime reduction in 2024.
Police Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh said officers removed a significant amount of drugs from city streets over the past year through seizures and investigations. While drugs continue to circulate in the community, he said police believe they are surpassing previous seizure totals and disrupting supply.
“Any drug seizure we have, even if it’s a small amount, to me, it could potentially be a few lives saved because of the fentanyl and the damage that it can do to people,” Mehdizadehsaid. “This year, Lethbridge has been one of the lowest rates of overdose rates.”
Mehdizadeh said effective policing is only one factor in the decline in accidental drug overdose deaths. He said support programs from different levels of government, along with police efforts to connect people with services, also play a role.
“We went from the number one in the province to, I believe, the lowest in the province right now. So that’s, I think, welcome news for our city and our citizens,” he said.
In 2025, the Integrated Offender Management Program unit was created with funding from the Province of Alberta. Mehdizadeh said the pilot project focuses on identifying career criminals using analytics from the Lethbridge Police Service analytics unit and engaging with them directly.
“Not with handcuffs in his hand, but with open arms of support and giving him that opportunity that we have all the support behind if you choose to volunteer to get help,” he said. “Now, sometimes the people in the community feel that that’s all we are doing. No. If they don’t want to volunteer to actually get the support and help they need, we’re still going to go back to enforcing the law.”
Mehdizadeh said officers also saw a significant increase in encampments in 2025 and crime associated with them, including shoplifting and retail crime around Park Place Mall and nearby businesses.
“We’ve done a lot of operations with the National Retail Crime Group and our downtown policing unit and crime suppression to deal with some of these behaviours.”
He said encampments have required substantial police resources to ensure public safety, noting the issue is not unique to Lethbridge and is being seen across Alberta.
The police service also closed a number of investigations in 2025, with the criminal investigation division solving several major cases, including a jewelry store theft in which suspects were arrested in Saskatchewan.
“I’m very proud of the work that they’ve done,” Mehdizadeh said. “But this is the double-edged sword. When you actually do the work to solve crime, it adds into your crime severity index.”
Mahdizadeh said the department is nearly fully staffed, with most vacancies caused by retirements after 25 to 30 years of service. He said morale remains positive and is reflected in community initiatives such as the Charity Check Stop, which raised $35,000 for Special Olympics Alberta, and events like Trunk and Treat.
“A lot of employees show up every year, and the public has been nothing but supportive of that initiative,” he said.
The year also marked the first harvest of the Blackfoot Medicine Garden, an initiative proposed by an employee as part of the service’s reconciliation efforts. Mehdizadeh said elders shared knowledge about the plants while officers helped care for the garden.
“That increases our awareness and knowledge on the way the community does things and why they are important to them,” he said.
Heading into 2026, Mehdizadeh said the focus will be on building on the progress made over the past year.
