Lethbridge Police Service and the Alberta Sheriffs cleared unwelcome camps and rounded up people wanted on outstanding warrants during a one-day blitz in the downtown on July 28, 2026. Officers arrested 26 people and cleared more than 100 warrants that day.
While working in Galt Gardens, officers found a 49-year-old man suffering a drug overdose. They gave him Naloxone, and he woke up. Emergency medical crews then checked him and he was medically cleared.
A 55-year-old Lethbridge woman was taken into custody in connection with that call and now faces charges of drug possession and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
The targeted enforcement also saw dozens of homeless encampments taken down. The operation paired city police with the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) Unit of the Alberta Sheriffs, a six-member team set up in Lethbridge in late 2023 to tackle problem properties and illegal activity.
This is the latest step in a multi-year Encampment Strategy that Lethbridge City Council approved in spring 2023. City data shows the approach is working: there were 68 per cent fewer encampments in the first three months of 2026 than in the same stretch of 2025. Across the whole city, crime fell 16 per cent in 2024, and the downtown alone saw a 17 per cent drop.
