Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht was given a vote of confidence from the police commission last night as his contract was extended until the end of October 2018.

"He's done a great job and just provides a little stability — not only for the commission, but also within the service," said chair Shami Sandhu. "Members of the service know he's going to be around now for another five years."

Sandhu said the commission is happy with what Knecht's been able to accomplish so far.

"He joined us in 2011 when we had the high homicide rates," he said. "The work that he did with the violence reduction strategy has brought down the homicide rate, in part."

Knecht's initial contract was set to expire in 2016.