Winnipeg’s mayor has discussed his concerns about crime in the city with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Wab Kinew, he said after new police statistics showed a spike in violence last year.
The Winnipeg Police Service released its 2023 annual report Tuesday, indicating that while property offences and crime overall decreased when compared with 2022, violent and youth crime, as well as overall calls for service, increased.
Total reported violent crimes increased from 13,451 in 2022 to 15,074 last year, the data shows, while reported property crime dropped from 52,567 to 49,055.
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Mayor Scott Gillingham said governments need to work together to take concrete actions to address the root causes of crime.
“Overall, total crime is down slightly, but there are some areas where it has increased, and that’s very concerning,” Mayor Scott Gillingham told reporters.
“It is consistent with what we’ve been hearing in media reports and what the police have been saying, and this is something that I’ve raised directly with the prime minister one-on-one, I’ve raised it with the premier as well; he and I have discussed it.”
Gillingham said governments need to work together to take concrete actions to address the root causes of crime.
“I believe in long-term plans, but we need to take some action immediately to address some of these concerns,” he said, pointing to the need to work with the province’s Health Department to increase access to addictions treatment and detox centres, as well as mental-health services.
“We need to move towards a more robust means of addressing people that are struggling with addiction, because too often that addiction is resulting in violent crime,” said Gillingham.
Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe wasn’t made available for an interview Tuesday but his office provided a statement.
Wiebe, a New Democrat, pointed the finger at the previous Progressive Conservative government, saying crime got worse under the Tories’ watch.
“While it’s encouraging to see some improvements, we know there is more work to do and that our response has to be both tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime,” said Wiebe’s statement, which added the new government has passed public-safety legislation and recently held a summit discussing long-term solutions.
Prof. Frank Cormier, a University of Manitoba criminologist, cautioned against reading too deeply into increases and decreases in the statistics year-over-year.
“Generally, it all goes back to the same root cause, that is sometimes magnified by things like the pandemic, or different drugs being in vogue or more or less available,” he said.
Crime in Winnipeg is, largely, tied to entrenched economic and social problems, he said.
“There are people with problems, living in really (poor) circumstances and social conditions, whose needs aren’t being met, who aren’t able to access the kind of support that might help them. They are using intoxicants at higher levels, and different kinds of intoxicants that lead them into crimes, all different kinds of crimes,” he said, adding the answer to reducing crime comes down to addressing social and economic needs.
“People whose basic needs are met and who have reasonably satisfying and stable lives are very unlikely to get involved in crime; it’s not something that happens very often.
“We live in a society where some people have a lot and other people have very little, so as long as that’s the case, as long as there’s great economic inequality… there will be these kinds of behaviours.”
Reported crimes continued to be most densely concentrated in Winnipeg’s lower-income areas and the downtown, where violent crime is up from 2022 and the five-year average.
The CEO of Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, Kate Fenske, said businesses in her organization’s catchment are concerned about crime and safety, adding many other cities in North America are struggling with the same issues.
She said businesses want to see increased presence from police and outreach groups, as well as more resources and supports for mental-health and addiction issues.
But Fenske said she’s optimistic in both the short and long term, based on her conversations with government officials and programs already in place, such as the Downtown Community Safety Partnership.
Youth crime, including violence, also increased last year over 2022.
Mitch Bourbonniere, a social worker who helps at-risk youth, said increases in youth crime and violence should be seen from a wider social context.
“In a perfect society, every child has someone in their corner, has a champion — a mentor, a role model, a coach, a parent figure, a grandparent figure,” he said.
“But we also have wounded families that aren’t able to do that, and in those instances, other people have to step in to take that role.”
The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth, Sherri Gott, said the increase in youth crime is unsurprising and has a grossly disproportionate impact on Indigenous and socio-economically disadvantaged youth.
“We know that youth do not have consistent access to the holistic resources and supports they need to thrive,” she said in a statement.
“Comprehensive youth-focused strategies are imperative to help tackle this issue. They should include whole-of-government wraparound approaches.”
She said she agrees with a recent Winnipeg police project meant to connect the most crime-prone youth to resources — but said without addressing systemic issues, “We may not see long-lasting change.”
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
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