Police service blasted for beefing up downtown patrols at cost to inner-city areas

An inner-city activist is livid about a decision by the Winnipeg Police Service to pull some officers from community districts and reassign them to beef up patrols downtown.

"It's totally unacceptable. If we need more policing downtown, let's get more policing downtown. But stripping it from the highest-crime areas and the most vulnerable people is totally unacceptable," said Sel Burrows, who founded and co-ordinates the Point Powerline, a community-based tip line in Point Douglas.

"Why would they be taking the community support units from both the North End and the West End, which is the two highest crime areas in Winnipeg?"

More police and surveillance cameras, additional lighting and new all-purpose vehicles for police are part of a $10-million crime prevention package coming to the downtown. The provincial government announced the initiative in the summer.

"It will take time to roll out these new and expanded resources, but we know that for many, they can't wait two years for change to occur," said a report from police Chief Danny Smyth to the police board last month.

As part of the downtown safety strategy, more foot patrols, augmented by cadets, have been assigned to the city's core, primarily in the sports, hospitality and entertainment district (SHED) and the Exchange District.

The 11-block SHED encompasses, among other things, the Canada Life Centre, RBC Convention Centre, Metropolitan Theatre, Burton Cummings Theatre and True North Square.

The downtown patrols are being bolstered by officers from the community support units. A spokesperson from the police service said the community support units will not be abandoning their districts, but will split their time 50-50 between those neighbourhoods and downtown.

"We expect to do that almost on a daily basis to help increase our presence and respond to some of the events that are occurring in the downtown area," Smyth told the board at the September meeting.

"Downtown is buzzing with events, concerts and Jets games. Our presence is important, and this is our strategy to adjust our delivery service so that we can meet the needs of those who work and come in downtown."

The decrease in crime and disorder will improve public safety, and the perception of public safety, in turn revitalizing the economy of the area with new and existing businesses, restaurants and entertainment venues, which also attract more people downtown, Smyth's report says.

"Making the downtown SHED district safer by allowing crime to flourish in the inner city communities is a foolish strategy," Burrows said, accusing the police of catering to "heavily middle class, heavily wealthier people" going downtown to events.

"And they're doing it at the expense of the poor Indigenous people who live in the inner city."

Community support units play a crucial role in developing relationships with inner-city residents and organizations, building trust and feelings of support, Burrows said.

Cutting their neighbourhood time in half may not be fully abandoning the area, but it's close, he said.

"We didn't have enough when all of them were there," Burrows said.

"If they feel they need more police officers in the downtown, which I'm not disagreeing with, then they should look within their administrative system and look at which police officers are doing duties that have the least impact on crime at the moment."

Tara Davis, owner of Tara Davis Studio Boutique, says the patrols are valuable and she's looking forward to seeing more of them in the Exchange District, where her shop is located.

"When there are more people within the [community] foot patrol, there's a better sense of what's happening in the neighbourhood," she said.

"This neighbourhood has a lot of challenges around homelessness and mental illness and addictions. And when the foot patrol knows people by name and their circumstance, I think that's really helpful to the community and those people."