Crime and Safety in Winnipeg 2022 Part 2

The head of the police union has been calling the police chief's recent news conference an insufficient response. Criminologists and some councillors have been saying cameras and more police boots on the ground will not work. That is a pretty wide spectrum there at least in terms of policing. The spectrum widens even further for those who wish to defund the police or end policing altogether. It is worth noting that a 2020 study by the Washington Post on 60 years of data in the U.S. showed no correlation up or down for crime on per capita spending.

And Winnipeg does spend a lot. Nearly 2.000 work in policing in Winnipeg and they and emergency services are run off their feet as the city consistently has some of the most violence and crime in the nation. As a line item in the city budget, the ratio of police spending goes up every year above inflation while other spending fails to keep pace. The argument that 50 or 200 police additional officers hired can help bring crime down might not bear fruit, especially if other services are left to whither like streets and transportation and parks and recreation. 

A rising misery index could very well push a flight pattern of people outside city limits. Many police themselves live outside the city. How many? The city doesn't track but when they did, it was a lot. Consider the rules of the past where an officer had to live in his jurisdiction and be able to walk to the station if transportation was down due to storm. The police counter is that we have had mayors who live outside of the country and still are mayor. They have a point.

We see a lot of commuter workers in Winnipeg now. Heads of hospitals and Crowns who head home to B.C. and Quebec every weekend. Heads of companies, professionals, teachers and all manner of folk commute from the exurbs into the city. But what does this do for the city itself? It has a tendency to stretch out the city, hollow it out and in a lot of cases remove the very people who contribute to the health of the city overall. For example, a weekend fundraiser for a major hospital is probably going to be a more successful event if the CEO is present and not calling it in from Quebec. And even if they attend these sometime events, it is the day in and day out being present in the community that is helpful. How do you even really know the city that is paying your salary if you are not present? More to the point, why would you even care?

Crime and Safety in Winnipeg in 2022 Part 1

Crime in Winnipeg in the post pandemic period has been raising concern for many people. It would be a mistake to say it is solely media driven. Despite a news conference from Chief Danny Smyth from the Winnipeg Police Service set to reassure people, many in the city are anything but. Being randomly attacked or being a victim of crime are probably first and foremost of concern for citizens. Simply telling people they are statistically unlikely to be a victim of crime does not change the perception of safety.

One of the reasons why The Forks has generally defied perceptions that downtown is dangerous in the past is because the area is clean, looks cared for and has activities associated with tourism and recreation. The presence of a lot of people and that the area is secure has served The Forks well. The pandemic emptying out nearly all downtown and protests originating or ending up at The Forks has changed the dynamic. Instead of being an area of gathering for trade and celebration, it has become a seat of power to express dissatisfaction. 

Freedom of speech is the hallmark of our society. However, the polarized nature and confrontational style of protest has turned The Forks into a sometime hot spot. It is a kind of messy situation because unauthorized political gatherings are probably not exactly what The Forks had in mind when hosting cultural and musical events.

Why is this important? It is important because while it may not be a crime to gather to protest the government, it may make people wonder about their security. If your intent is to go for dinner at The Forks, go for a walk and browse the stores, a large and vocal government protest might seem something to avoid. The peaceful gathering of many people is what the strength of The Forks is. If people think their safety is at issue, they make different choices. It is why crime and safety blur. Perception that The Forks is safe and that crime is rare cannot only be about words but deeds. More on that later.

As for violent crime, it might be rare but it can't be ignored. The Forks is not the only place in the city experiencing it. Polo Park has had a number of incidents too. It is something that the largest shopping mall in the province has to deal with or risk looking more business to Seasons of Tuxedo. For the first time, it appears that there are no vacancies in the Tuxedo mall. Can Polo Park say the same? With one of the largest property managers in the land as owner of the mall, those that run afoul and cause a disturbance can be banned from the premises. 

Still, multiple bans still can't protect people when they are outside. Grant Park Mall is not a place one would associate with violent crime and yet a carjacking took place there in broad daylight. And then a few days later three people stabbed near the mall in a reported attempted break in. None of the victims knew their attacker. There have been a few of those lately. A stabbing took place at a Charleswood bush party same weekend as the carjacking. Those have been going on for decades and suddenly one turns into a near homicide. And the police shot someone in Osborne Village. It really does seem the summer of discontent. The randomness makes anyone say: Are we safe anywhere?