Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth’s comments last week about violent crime being “normal” and “not new” have many in Winnipeg upset..After a series of violent attacks at The Forks, including a Ukrainian refugee getting stabbed in the neck on Canada Day, Smyth dismissed the violent crime..“In terms of aggravated assaults, this is not new … it’s alarming … we’ve had stabbings there before, we’ve had homicides there before,” said Smyth..Community activists spoke out against Smyth’s response to the violent crime as trying to normalize the current situation instead of trying to solve the problem..Sel Burrows, Point Douglas Powerline co-founder, said even a few violent crimes at The Forks are “horrible, absolutely horrible.”.“The message is ‘there’s not much we can do, this is normal, this is happening’ instead of saying ‘Hey, we the police have to look at some different ways of doing things,’” Burrows told the media. .“He should’ve been saying, ‘We’re going to be making some changes within the police department, we need some changes at the provincial government’s justice department, there’s a whole series of new actions that need to be done immediately that have been recommended over the years.’”.Burrows suggested the police get people who live in the community to become involved in crime prevention to prevent such horrific attacks in the future..“We must get people who live and work in areas involved in crime prevention. It’s very basic and very cheap … Winnipeg should be sick and tired of being the crime capital of Canada,” said Burrows..“How about we set up a line so if you’re a security guard, seeing something happening outside of the building they’re guarding that looks criminal, looks like it’s going to move to being criminal, they can get in touch right away?”.Burrows said it is “eyes on the street, eyes on the street, eyes on the street.”.Kevin Walby, University of Winnipeg professor, said Winnipeg Police Board Chair and Counsellor Markus Chambers and Smyth are denying the violent crime situation Winnipeg finds itself in..“The situation is not normal, and policing is not going to address the kinds of harm and transgression and conflict that we see in Winnipeg,” said Walby..According to Walby, the problems creating a “lot of distress” in Winnipeg range from mental health and substance abuse issues, economic inequality, and affordable housing..Walby suggests the city spends part of its police budget on social services..“We’re not going to criminalize our way out of any kind of uptick in transgression and in conflict. The more we lock people up, the more we’re actually kind of dissolving what social bonds remain in our communities,” said Walby. .About a quarter of Winnipeg’s operating budget is spent on policing, which is about $320 million.
