Winnipeg police chief sees crime statistic changes during pandemic

Winnipeg police saw some standout changes in their 2020 service calls.

In their latest report, the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) is sharing an overview of Winnipeg's 2020 crime rates.

"The Winnipeg Police Service 2020 Statistical Report reflects the crime that was reported in Winnipeg, but it only tells part of the story in what was a remarkable year that saw the city deal with the effects of the COVID-19 virus," Chief Danny Smyth says in a release.

The Province of Manitoba says its Downtown Community Safety Partnership, which was put in effect one year ago with the Downtown Community Safety Partnership (DCSP), has created a healthier, safer and more connected downtown community.

“The Downtown Community Safety Partnership interacts with and provides support to downtown Winnipeg’s vulnerable population in a way that police cannot,” Justice Minister Cameron Friesen says in a statement.

In the year, the program saw more than two thousand well-being checks, more than one hundred medical assistance events, more than 450 housing referrals, more than 280 case-management meetings, more than 220 courtesy/safe walks, more than 60 individuals got help in obtaining identification documentation.

Families Minister Rochelle Squires says they are proud to be a part of this work.

 

2020 Crime rates

Winnipeg is seeing much higher crimes rates than cities such as Regina, Saskatoon, and Calgary, but this is not new.

The WPS says it has high crime rates than other prairie cities. (WPS)

The city saw huge drops in property crimes in 2020. Smyth says this is likely connected to increased security measures from Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries. The year before saw large volumes of robberies at Manitoba Liquor Marts. Violent crimes also decreased, which Smyth says is also connected to the security changes.

There was an increase in homicides, which Smyth is concerned about.

"The number of homicides was quite high for the second year in a row. I do note some cause for concern regarding the increase in assault with a weapon offences, and in particular, the number of knife-related events."

Smyth speaks to the media in 2020. (Screenshot: Winnipeg Police Service/Facebook)

The WPS says on average they get four knife-related and four firearm-related calls each day. In 2020 there were 973 knife events with strangers, and 454 with a known victim. The WPS says 1,453 firearm calls were made in 2020.

There has been a decrease in charges across the city for all. Men and boys continue to make up high percentages of people charged at 73 per cent of all charged suspects.

WPS saw a 33.3 per cent decrease in Hate Crimes with 26 events, but cautions the number of hate crimes may be higher as many go unreported.

 

Youth

Youth crime was significantly down in 2020, including the number of youth homicides half of the year previous. Theft and drug-related crime are down.

There is a massive jump in sexual assaults, up 75.9 per cent in 2020. Cocaine possession has increased by 100 per cent.

 

Calls

2020 saw a 5.8 per cent decrease in calls to their communication centre, including a 12.4 per cent increase in Check Wellbeing calls.

Officers responded to 83,388 police-initiated dispatched events, up by 10.4 per cent since last year. There was a 1.4 per cent increase in citizen-generated dispatch events.

Wellbeing checks and domestic calls are the most common citizen dispatched events. (WPS)

"While COVID-19 might be a causal factor in these changes, it will likely be another year before we see the full effects of the pandemic on police operations," Smyth says.

WPS's Central District had the highest number of calls they were dispatched to in 2020.

 

Neighbourhood crime rates

In general, Point Douglas and Downtown are the two neighbourhoods topping WPS's crime rate charts. St. Vital, Fort Garry, and Seven Oaks have the lowest crime rates according to WPS statistics. 

Point Douglas, Downtown, and Inkster are the areas with the highest rates of violent crimes. St. Vital, Assiniboine South, and Fort Garry have the lowest violent crime rates.

 

Staffing

2020's total authorized Winnipeg Police Service staff was 1917, including cadets and civilian members with 399 of those who speak more than one language. 

Officers are mostly white men. Of the total staff, 16 per cent are women, 11.4 per cent are Indigenous, and 7.9 per cent are visible minorities.

The report says there has been a steady decrease in officers since 2015, but its policing per capita continues to rise. In 2020 there was an officer-to-resident ratio of 566 to one. Per 100,000 people in Winnipeg, there were 176.8 officers. Five years earlier there were 200.5 offices per one hundred thousand people.

In 2020, the per capita rate for police costs was $398. The year before it was $385. In 2015 that same statistic was $363.