An RCMP task force has been formed to tackle rising violent crime by street gangs and prolific offenders who terrorize several rural Manitoba communities..Armed with a variety of weapons including firearms, the criminals prey on victims using both violence and intimidation tactics..The Strategic Enforcement Response Team (SERT) will focus on enforcement, and intelligence gathering data and analysis, said RCMP at a Winnipeg press conference Friday.."The creation of SERT is in direct response to the concerning upwards trend of violent crime in certain communities and the increased use of violence by prolific offenders and street gangs,” said Supt. Scott McMurchy, acting head of Criminal Operations..“By using an intelligence-led approach that uses the skills of every facet of our organization, we believe SERT will have a real and immediate impact on community safety.” .The task force will use a phased approach. .Front-line officers will gather data on crimes and offenders and enter critical information into the RCMP’s database..Analysts will identify patterns and look for potential gang affiliations and ties to provincial and inter-provincial criminal networks..They’ll forward their findings to major crimes members who will further investigate and seek necessary search warrants..Then, enforcement will include operational plans to back up local detachments with resources — emergency response teams, police dogs, and air services — from across the province..RCMP will execute search warrants, enforce outstanding arrest warrants, and conduct compliance checks on offenders with court-imposed conditions. .SERT was already operating last month and made multiple arrests in Moose Lake, a community of 1,200 located 726 km northwest of Winnipeg..Moose Lake experienced a recent spike in crime, homicides, firearm-related calls, and street gang activity, said RCMP..“Our government supports the RCMP in the creation and deployment of this intelligence-led response team,” said Justice Minister and Attorney General Kelvin Goertzen..“Pursuing these gang members and violent offenders with targeted resources will help to address the violent criminal activity harming many Manitoban communities,” .RCMP did not provide violent crime statistics..Meanwhile, a recent Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) survey found 92% of municipalities want more of a police presence in their communities..Escalating property and drug crimes ranked high on the list of concerns, while many RCMP detachments are operating with less than a full complement of officers..READ MORE Most Manitoba municipalities want more Mounties
