Dauphin installs more cameras as crime prevention tool

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Leaders in Dauphin believe that by putting eyes in the sky, they can help reduce crime and give residents a greater sense of safety and security.

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Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe recently announced that $24,000 from the Criminal Forfeiture Fund will go to the city of Dauphin to allow the Parkland-area city to install 15 additional CCTV cameras.

According to Wiebe, the province also previously supported efforts in Dauphin to add another 10 high-resolution cameras on city-run properties and to upgrade seven existing cameras to high-resolution.

Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak said on Friday that Dauphin city council has been focused on using cameras as a tool to fight and prevent crime and to enhance feelings of safety and security for the more than 8,000 people who call Dauphin home.

“This is about us trying to be preventative, rather than being reactive after there’s been an incident,” Bosiak said. “We hope that if someone is thinking of doing something stupid that this will give them a reason to think twice.

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“We have a great relationship with local RCMP and they do a really good job in this community, but we are also trying to do what we can to help ourselves when it comes to crime prevention.”

Council also hopes the cameras help Dauphin residents feel a greater sense of safety in the community.

“That’s a big part of why we are doing this,” Bosiak said. “It’s not just about stopping crimes or criminals, it’s about being proactive and saying, ‘what can we do as a council to make people feel safe?’”

Leaders from several rural Manitoba communities have been raising red flags in recent months about what many have said are increases in crime in smaller communities and a rise in issues related to homelessness and addictions.

Bosiak said that in Dauphin crime levels have remained steady over the last few years, and he does not believe that the community is in a “precarious” situation like some other communities when it comes to crime, homelessness and addictions.

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“The crime always fluctuates, and we do typically see a little less in the winter and more happening in the summer, but we have not seen some huge increase in any kinds of crimes in Dauphin,” he said.

“So things like the cameras are really there not because we are trying to stop a problem, but so we have less chances of running into those problems down the road.”

And as the city installs the cameras and keeps a better eye on what’s happening at their facilities, Bosiak said he hopes residents and business owners in the community will also consider ways to prevent crimes at their homes or businesses, including possibly installing cameras or through other security measures.

“It’s always up to individuals to decide what is right for them and what is within their means, but I believe everyone has to take some responsibility when it comes to their situation,” Bosiak said. “We all have a role to play.”

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According to Wiebe, since 2009 the Criminal Property Forfeiture Branch has distributed more than $30 million to Manitoba communities from seized and liquidated criminal assets for projects and initiatives to enhance public safety.

“This program is a win-win,” Wiebe said. “We can make communities safer while making drug traffickers and organized crime pay the price.”

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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