The Winnipeg Police Service says officers are ready to take on more overtime this fall as the province extends its campaign to curb retail and violent crime through September and October.
Premier Wab Kinew announced $774,000 in additional funding for the temporary program Thursday that was slated to end this month.
“This thing is working,” the premier told a news conference at Canadian Footwear in the Exchange District.
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
‘This thing is working’: Premier Wab Kinew
The three-pronged retail theft and violent-crime prevention program sees uniformed officers engage with retailers and the public at businesses that have been most affected by theft, as well as covert targeted-enforcement operations and community relations.
In early June, the province provided $378,000 to fund four weeks of Winnipeg Police Service patrols, in which officers work overtime to target retail crime hot spots in the Exchange District, Osborne Village and the West End.
The program was hailed a success and extended by the province to the end of August with another $1 million for police OT.
The owner of Canadian Footwear, which has been in business for 92 years, said the initiative has made a “tremendous difference.”
“The calls I get, and the people I talk to, couldn’t be more pleased to know that when they get out of their cars in downtown Winnipeg, they don’t have to look over their shoulders,” said Brian Scharfstein.
He credited the collaboration between businesses, levels of government and the police and wants to see a sustained effort to make the city safer.
“It’s essential for us as governments to support small business owners and investors like (Scharfstein) who are creating jobs and helping to build our neighbourhoods throughout Winnipeg,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said at the news conference.
Retail theft isn’t a victimless crime, Gillingham said.
“Employees and customers are victims when they’re threatened or harmed trying to prevent a theft,” the mayor said.
“Business owners are victims when they see their hard-earned incomes walk out the door. The entire community suffers… when businesses decide, for reasons of safety, to close up shop and go elsewhere. This is what we’re working hard to prevent.”
Ten Winnipeg 7-Eleven stores have threatened to close because of the growing theft problem, city councillor Vivian Santos said last week.
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Winnipeg Police Service Supt. Dave Dalal said members have said they’re all-in on working overtime to combat theft.
Santos (Point Douglas) described groups of up to 10 thieves swarming a store at the same time.
Police reported that one of the stores slated for closure — at Arlington Street and Notre Dame Avenue — was robbed six separate times last Saturday.
Closing the 10 stores would have a major impact on residents who rely on them for food staples, said Santos, who has asked that they be included in the provincially funded initiative.
The targeted 7-Eleven stores have been included in the retail and violent-crime prevention campaign, said WPS Insp. Jennifer McKinnon.
The police community relations team is visiting the 10 locations to talk about “environmental design” and to connect them with community resources, she told the Free Press.
“It’s essential for us as governments to support small business owners and investors like (Scharfstein) who are creating jobs and helping to build our neighbourhoods throughout Winnipeg.”–Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham
Police will meet with 7-Eleven representatives next month “to dig into the root causes of what they’re experiencing.”
Some of the convenience stores — as other retailers have done — are now locking their doors to control the number of customers inside at one time.
“A store can’t control (things) when their employees are outnumbered by people,” McKinnon said.
Some retailers are also closing earlier.
McKinnon said she has met with police counterparts elsewhere int eh country dealing with the same issues.
“This isn’t unique to us,” she said. “I think this has become the new normal.”
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Brian Scharfstein, owner of Canadian Footwear, said the retail crime initiative has made ‘a tremendous difference.’
Kinew said his government remains committed to being tough on crime and its causes, with long-term investments in areas such as addictions and mental health that take more time to produce results.
The province needed to act fast to address concerns about retail and violent crime plaguing parts of the city, he said, thanking the police for their service.
“We know that being a police officer can be a hard job,” he said. “We have to keep the well-being of officers in mind as we ask them to do more and more.”
WPS Supt. Dave Dalal said officers have indicated they can handle the overtime.
“(Wednesday) I was meeting with all the commanders, checking in on the members and making sure that this is sustainable and members are not being burned out,” he told reporters. “They’re giving direction to carry on until we have another check in.”
The OT funded by the province allowed the police to deploy resources and engage with the community “in a way that we haven’t been able to, due to high call volumes and demand,” Dalal said, adding officers have been able to build relationships with business groups, social services providers and local residents.
“This builds trust and improves outcomes.”
As for what will happen in November after the funding for the program ends, Dalal said the police executive is talking about how to provide a consistent level of service “so that the trust we built, the relationships we formed, will continue into the future.”
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.
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