Alberta Sen. Paula Simons is calling into question Edmonton Police’s decision to withhold the names of some of city’s homicide victims.

“We are allowing the Edmonton Police Service to treat us like we’re children,” said Simons, adding that it’s a step towards a “police state.”

Of the 27 homicides in the city in 2018, Edmonton Police did not release the names of victims in 10 cases. In 2017, 17 of 42 victims’ names were not released, according to CTV Edmonton.

The most recent example of this was a death on Friday in west Edmonton. Police believe that death was a case of domestic violence. They said that a 49-year-old woman was dead, and that a 53-year old man known to the woman is in custody with charges pending and no additional suspects.

In 2017, Edmonton Police changed their policy on when to release names citing Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Simons, a former newspaper columnist appointed to the Senate in October, says that police are misinterpreting the act by keeping some names secret.

“The text of the law doesn't give the police any particular duty or burden to keep this information private,” she said.

Meanwhile, police in Calgary have continued to release the names of nearly every homicide victim.

With a new police chief about to start in the city, there are calls to rethink the policy, including from Western University professor and psychologist Peter Jaffe.

“I think it's important that they engage the community and they look at this as a matter for public safety and concern,” Jaffe said. “And also accountability.”

Citing this week’s homicide, Jaffe said that if it was domestic violence, it shouldn’t be kept from the public.

“If we keep names private then the assumption is domestic violence is a private family matter,” he said.

Incoming Edmonton police chief Dale McFee has said he’ll review the practice while keeping in mind citizens’ rights to privacy.