Crackdown on retail crime worth continuing: justice minister

Manitoba’s justice minister said the provincial government will extend funding for its crackdown on retail crime after police and hard-hit businesses reported a reduction in thefts in just weeks.

In early June, the province put up $378,000 to fund four weeks of Winnipeg Police Service patrols, in which officers work overtime, to target retail crime hot spots. It’s working so well, the province plans to extend the funding into July, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said in an interview late Monday.

“The WPS was confident that if we were to increase these resources, they would be able to send a message of public safety and get the resources out on the streets to have an impact. I think that’s what we’re seeing here in the early days,” Wiebe said.

The West End Food Fare, which has had to cope with increased acts of violence and shoplifting in recent months, praised the increased police presence, saying it’s led to fewer thefts and some arrests.

Co-owner Munther Zeid said the police have made at least four shoplifting arrests at the store since the crackdown began and shoplifting attempts have dropped dramatically. “(Monday) we had zero — that’s rare,” Zeid said about the busy store that recovers as much as $7,000 from would-be shoplifters each month. “Sunday, we had one.”

“(Monday) we had zero — that’s rare. Sunday, we had one.”–Food Fare co-owner Munther Zeid

Wiebe said it’s too early to share preliminary numbers that show the stepped-up police presence is working.

“What we’re looking for is to pull together even more of that data and be able to parse it in a way that would help inform the next steps,” the minister said.

“We’re encouraged by the information on the successes that the WPS has had — and we’re not just hearing from them. I’ve heard from the public, the wider business community, and retailers positive feedback on the work being done.”

Wiebe wouldn’t say how much more money the government would contribute.

The “work” is a three-pronged strategy the police pulled together “very, very quickly,” said WPS superintendent of investigations, Cam Mackid.

Uniformed officers engage with retailers and the public at the businesses that have been most affected by theft. “They’re also making arrests — they’re not just walking around,” Mackid said in an interview Tuesday. “If they see public safety issues, they’re addressing it in real time and making arrests.”

The second part is targeted enforcement.

“That’s more covert operations where we’re looking to make arrests,” Mackid said. “That’s done at various locations throughout the city. It’s data-driven based on location, statistics and prolific offender statistics,” he said. “That’s a very targeted enforcement that you don’t necessarily see, but it’s going on behind the scenes.”

The third part, community relations, involves officers working with retailers and business groups to enhance public safety, he said.

For example, officers went to an affected shopping mall before it opened to meet with all the retailers and loss-prevention staff to discuss issues specific to that location, he said. “They talked about things they could be doing to better design their stores to deter theft, those sorts of things.”

Mackid said he expects to share statistics and findings from the four-week operation in early July.

“I think the public will be pleased with the results we’ve had,” he said.

The justice minister said the province is pleased that its “partnership” with Winnipeg police is working, and wants it to continue as summer activities heat up in Winnipeg.

“There are a lot more people out in the community at our businesses and on our streets — at festivals and out and about in the city — so we certainly want to continue this relationship and this initiative right now,” the minister said.

Retiring police chief Danny Smyth told the police board June 7 that he was concerned about officers getting burned out from too much overtime — something that both Wiebe and Mackid acknowledged.

“It’s a consideration,” Wiebe said. “That’s why we’re working with the WPS to understand where those resources are available and the impact that’s going to have on their members.

He said it appears the staffing up is sustainable over the short term.

“Over the long term, we’re looking at ways to support law enforcement in the city and across the province to ensure we have the right resources overall and we’re not just doing it in this immediate sort of way.”

Mackid said that although the overtime hours are voluntary, “burnout is a very real thing and sometimes we need to protect members from themselves. Sometimes they’ll work themselves to the point that it’s becoming unhealthy… We’re keeping an eye on that for sure.”

Police resources are almost always at capacity, so staffing such a crackdown would be nearly impossible without officers working overtime and the provincial government footing the bill, Mackid said.

“The province, to their credit, saw fit to take some action here and put some money behind it,” Mackid said. “It’s been very well-received by the police and the public.”

Progressive Conservative justice critic, former Brandon police chief Wayne Balcaen, said he wants to see the data from the retail crime crackdown. He questioned whether it has pushed the problem to other parts of the city.

“It’s very anecdotal. Have there been five arrests or 150?” the member for Brandon West asked. “Has there been a marked decrease in areas they’ve targeted? Has it increased in areas surrounding there?”

He called the efforts “reactive” rather than “proactive,” and asked when the NDP would make good on its promises to get tough on crime and address the root causes of crime.

Wiebe said they’re working on it.

“While this is an important first step, we understand the longer term challenges around housing, mental health and addictions and we see the needs and challenges there,” the minister said. “We need to broaden the conversation (about) how we address public safety in a longer-term strategy.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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