‘Passable grade’ on downtown safety not good enough: police chief

Only half of Winnipeggers who responded to a recent police survey said they feel very safe or reasonably safe walking alone downtown during the day, but the figure drops to just nine per cent at night.

The survey also found 54 per cent rated the overall quality of the Winnipeg Police Service as excellent or good — a slight dip from 55 per cent in 2022 to mark the lowest rating to date.

Results of the 2024 Winnipeg Police Service Citizen Survey were released during a Winnipeg Police Board meeting Friday. The results come from Prairie Research Associates’ landline and cellphone interviews of 600 Winnipeg adults between Jan. 29 and Feb. 7.

Police Chief Danny Smyth believes the decline in the perception of safety is linked to recent crime rates and high-profile violent incidents.

“In our city, our homicide numbers have been double now for several years (from what they used to be)… We’ve (also) had some pretty high-profile crimes occur in the downtown,” Smyth told media after the meeting.

Winnipeg had 40 homicides in 2023, 53 in 2022, 40 in 2021, 42 in 2020, 44 in 2019 and 22 in 2018.

Smyth noted the stabbing death of a man at the downtown Millennium Library in December 2022 as one example of a highly publicized violent crime that caught the public’s attention.

The survey found 12 per cent of respondents felt very safe walking alone downtown during the day, 37 per cent felt reasonably safe, 28 per cent felt somewhat safe and 22 per cent felt very unsafe, while the rest weren’t sure.

In 2022, 55 per cent felt very or reasonably safe, which was a reduction from 63 per cent in 2019.

During the 2024 survey, only nine per cent of folks felt safe or reasonably safe walking alone downtown at night.

Smyth said he thinks the move to add foot patrol officers downtown should help people feel safer. He also linked a lack of perceived safety to the decline in the portion of people who rate the overall quality of police service as excellent or good.

In the latest survey, 14 per cent rated the overall quality of the police service as excellent, 40 per cent deemed it good, 36 per cent considered it average, six per cent found it poor and four per cent called it very poor.

“People’s perception of crime, I think, influences how they think about police as well. They feel less secure… We’re seeing that (rating) in the average area… I know that’s a passable grade but it’s not acceptable for me,” said Smyth.

The chief said public opinion may be swaying owing to recent police-involved deaths and media reports that he claimed were sensationalized or biased.

He expects an increased downtown police presence will help improve that rating.

The chairman of the Winnipeg Police Board said the survey results aren’t unexpected.

“I’m not surprised by that at all. Downtown was evacuated, basically, after the pandemic. More people on the streets is what’s needed to create that perception of safety… Where we’re at right now is not optimal,” said Coun. Markus Chambers.

Chambers also believes adding more downtown foot patrols will help and said he’d also like to increase police outreach to businesses and other stakeholders.

Kate Kehler, executive director of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, said she’s concerned by the fact 74 per cent of those surveyed live outside the inner city. She said they should be targeted for more feedback on downtown crime.

Kehler said she’s also concerned some folks may assume people struggling with poverty automatically pose a risk.

“Unfortunately, there is a culture out there that says if somebody ‘looks scary’ then they are scary and they are dangerous, instead of just someone who is struggling and in need of help,” she said.

Kehler said she believes pleas for increased police funding may also instill fear because they suggest the police service is understaffed and can’t properly address crime.

She also called the lack of data on the race of those surveyed “highly problematic.”

Kehler urged the city to invest more money in community services, rather than further police budget increases, to improve safety.

On Friday, Winnipeggers shared mixed views on downtown safety and policing.

Alliah Moog said she has felt unsafe walking downtown during the day.

“It is concerning. We’ve been followed, me and my friends, a couple of times already,” said Moog.

She said police and downtown safety patrols are doing good work to address the issue.

Ava, who did not want her last name published, believes police response varies depending on the situation and racial background of those involved, rating overall police performance as very poor.

However, she said she’s surprised so many people feel unsafe downtown during daylight.

“For me, it’s more dangerous (at night). I don’t feel safe at night but during the day, I’m fine,” she said.

The survey’s margin of error is plus or minus four per cent, 19 times out of 20.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga