More cops will patrol downtown on foot: police chief

Winnipeg will see more patrol officers on foot in the downtown area, police Chief Keith McCaskill told a business audience at a breakfast Thursday morning.

An ongoing review of the way the police service operates will help free up the resources required to staff more foot patrols, McCaskill said at the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce event.

McCaskill, who was sworn in as Winnipeg's 16th chief of police in December, said he wasn't sure how many foot patrols the downtown would see, or exactly when the review would be complete.

"We're going to increase it. We have to look at all of the review. We have to look at the resources we have. All of those things are going to be impacted on it," he said.

"My goal is to get more foot patrols downtown, but my goal is to get a certain presence on other areas of the city, too."

McCaskill, 52, also promised to keep a downtown police service centre open.

Another priority is addressing growing administrative burdens on front-line officers, which keep them in the office instead of on the street, he said.

McCaskill also said he's open to the idea of installing surveillance cameras in the city, but said the matter would have to be reviewed by both police and politicians. 

City administrators are currently examining the matter; a city councillor announced Thursday that he wants the process sped up.

McCaskill also committed to building better relationships with community organizations, and, in a nod to the business crowd in attendance, mentioned specifically organizations such as the Downtown Business Improvement Zone and the Chamber of Commerce.