Law, government, and crime in Winnipeg

The municipal government of Winnipeg is represented by 15 city councillors and a mayor elected every four years. On July 27, 1971, the City of Winnipeg absorbed the R. M. of Charleswood, the R. M. of Fort Garry, the R. M. of North Kildonan, the R. M. of Old Kildonan, the Town of Tuxedo, the City of East Kildonan, the City of West Kildonan, the City of St. Vital, the City of Transcona, the City of St. Boniface, the City of St. James-Assiniboia, the old City of Winnipeg and Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg were amalgamated to create a unicity.

Main article: Winnipeg
Winnipeg City Council 2014-2018
Mayor Brian Bowman
River Heights-Fort Garry John Orlikow
Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge Marty Morantz
St. Charles Shawn Dobson
St. James-Brooklands Scott Gillingham
Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry Jenny Gerbasi
North Kildonan Jeff Browaty
St. Boniface Matt Allard
Old Kildonan Devi Sharma
Point Douglas Mike Pagtakhan
Daniel McIntyre Cindy Gilroy
St. Vital Brian Mayes
St. Norbert Janice Lukes
Elmwood-East Kildonan Jason Schreyer
Transcona Russ Wyatt
Winnipeg City Hall

The first election for the newly combined city was held on October 6, 1971. The City Council consisted of 50 councillors and one mayor. The councillors were elected on the basis of one councillor per city ward while the mayor was elected by the city-at-large. The term of office was three years. The inaugural meeting of the new council took place on January 4, 1972.

Since 50 councillors proved too unwieldy the city wards were reduced to 29 in 1977. In 1992 the city wards were reduced even further to the present 15 and city councillors became full-time politicians.

On June 22, 2004, Sam Katz was elected as the first Jewish mayor of Winnipeg. He beat out prominent politicians Dan Vandal, Al Golden, and MaryAnn Mihychuk for the job by receiving 42.51% of the vote. This came after the resignation of Glen Murray as mayor of Winnipeg to run in the 2004 federal election.

Katz was re-elected to a second term in the 2006 elections on October 25, 2006. After promising in his first election to run for only two terms, Katz ran for a third term in 2010. He was re-elected in the 2010 elections. Brian Bowman, the City's first Aboriginal Mayor, was elected as the 43rd Mayor of the City of Winnipeg in a landslide victory on October 22nd, 2014.

Winnipeg is represented in the House of Commons of Canada by eight Members of Parliament. As of 2019, four are from the Liberal Party of Canada, two are from the Conservative Party of Canada and two are from the New Democratic Party.

Politics
See also: List of mayors of Winnipeg
Manitoba Legislative Building

Starting in 1900, in both provincial and federal elections, central Winnipeg elected politicians from the Labour Party. Winnipeg was the site of a general strike from May 15 to June 28, 1919. There were violent protests during this strikes, several deaths at the hands of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, and the arrest of many of Winnipeg's future politicians. Though it was not chartered until 1932, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was born not only out of the depression but also out of the labour unrest of 1919. Its successor, the New Democratic Party, has enjoyed much support in Winnipeg since the early 1960s. Winnipeg's longest-serving Members of Parliament include J.S. Woodsworth (21 years), Stanley Knowles (38 years), David Orlikow (25 years), Bill Blaikie (almost 27 years and re-elected in the 2006 federal election), and Lloyd Axworthy (21 years).

Aside from being the provincial capital of Manitoba, Winnipeg has served as the capital for two other Canadian territories: the Northwest Territories from 1870 to 1876 and the District of Keewatin from 1876 to 1905.

Police and Crime

Law enforcement
Further information: Winnipeg Police Service

Winnipeg is policed by the Winnipeg Police Service, which in 2012, had 1,442 police officers.[1] In 2017, Winnipeg had 192 police officers per 100,000 people, down from 200 in 2015. A change that is consistent with an overall decline in police officers per capita across Canada, which saw a 1% drop last year and a 1% decline the year before. At 192, Winnipeg has among the highest number of cops per capita among major Canadian cities with populations of 500,000 or more.[2]

Crime Rates
Western Canada Prairie Crime severity index [3]
Geography 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Winnipeg 165.49 170.83 163.93 166.09 150.73 125.82 137.52 117.65 103.55 98.23 83.84 81.12 89.64 102.37 106.93
Regina 221.85 229.09 205.96 196.57 187.00 164.61 143.67 133.18 124.12 117.36 106.05 103.08 109.73 125.76 111.89
Saskatoon 219.50 190.69 183.29 165.24 158.14 138.85 133.48 128.62 114.76 107.26 99.74 110.10 112.82 116.40 114.98
Calgary 102.98 98.55 97.01 96.29 91.80 84.92 80.78 76.39 65.34 61.15 60.99 60.67 79.11 77.47 81.76
Edmonton 141.52 144.32 141.01 129.75 128.64 122.69 114.74 101.81 87.02 84.49 85.41 87.90 102.58 106.51 112.34
Western Canada Prairie Non-violent crime severity index[4]
Geography 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Index
Winnipeg 162.66 167.89 154.67 157.17 139.04 110.79 116.86 98.49 81.63 79.72 70.05 68.08 76.59 87.21 89.92
Regina 232.24 244.95 213.78 192.01 188.71 161.97 138.91 125.99 124.86 119.56 105.06 102.74 109.91 125.01 114.27
Saskatoon 216.29 195.30 176.87 149.93 138.76 128.59 124.76 117.94 108.83 100.02 95.59 105.42 112.39 118.27 117.24
Calgary 106.97 102.59 97.88 96.86 90.88 83.11 77.87 74.69 63.49 60.82 60.24 59.32 81.20 82.10 84.52
Edmonton 147.60 154.35 148.34 135.11 128.90 119.52 113.47 99.71 80.42 80.17 83.18 85.44 101.45 107.83 113.99
Western Canada Prairie Violent crime severity index[5]
Geography 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Index
Winnipeg 172.86 178.47 188.03 189.27 181.16 164.92 191.24 167.48 163.23 148.53 121.26 116.50 124.99 143.86 153.53
Regina 194.82 187.86 185.63 208.41 182.55 171.47 156.03 151.86 121.38 110.63 108.16 103.41 108.59 127.01 104.54
Saskatoon 227.84 178.68 199.98 205.05 208.54 165.52 156.16 156.39 130.39 126.54 110.57 122.34 113.35 110.44 107.93
Calgary 92.61 88.04 94.76 94.80 94.19 89.63 88.36 80.82 70.05 61.70 62.69 64.04 72.92 64.09 73.54
Edmonton 125.69 118.24 121.95 115.80 127.96 130.95 118.04 107.26 104.67 95.88 91.05 94.18 105.09 102.13 106.99

Violent crime
This map shows each robbery in Winnipeg specific to neighbourhood in 2012. There were 1,811 robberies - one dot is one robbery. This picture shows the concentration of violent crime in Winnipeg.

In 2019, Winnipeg had the highest murder rate among Canada's cities.[6] From 1981 to 2012, Winnipeg had the highest murder rate among Canada's largest nine cities 16 times[7] for a rate of 16.2 per 100,000 residents. There were an additional 4 unlawful deaths, which would bring the rate to 6.8. This rate was around 4 times higher than the national rate at 1.7 per 100,000 people.[8] The next year, there were 30 known homicides in Winnipeg for a rate of 4.5 per 100,000 residents, with an addition 3 unlawful deaths equating to a rate of 5.0. Again, a few times higher than the national rate at 1.6. The robbery rate in 2012 was between 250.1 and 272.9, as the annual crime report and CrimeStat[9] had different numbers. The annual crime report, reported 1,660 robberies, where as CrimeStat reported 1,811. Regardless, the rate is several times higher than the national average at 79.4.[10] Winnipeg's robbery rate peaked at 346.7 in 2009, the much lower robbery rate in 2012 of course shows a decrease in this violent crime.[11]

Even though Winnipeg experiences high rates of violent crime, the city has witnessed a general decreasing trend in the frequency of these crimes. For example, the assault rate has dropped every year since 2009 from 953.4 per 100,000 residents to 810.9 in 2012.[12] Although this rate is still not as low as the number recorded in 2007 (781.1), it is substantially lower than the years of 1996 to 2002 when the average rate was 1049.8 per 100,000 residents. The robbery and sexual assault rates are also lower than they were back in 2009. The only rate that has increased, is the homicide rate.

The red area is the geographic location of the neighborhoods; South Point Douglas, Logan - C.P.R., Lord Selkirk Park, South Portage, Portage - Ellice, Dufferin Industrial, Spence, Central Park, St. John's Park, William Whyte, West Alexander, North Point Douglas, Centennial, Colony, China Town, Dufferin, Daniel Mcintyre, St. John's, Portage & Main and West Broadway.

The concentration of crime in Winnipeg

Despite high overall violent crime rates compared to other Canadian cities, crime in Winnipeg is very concentrated. For example, 80 of 234 neighbourhoods had not one robbery in 2012,[13] and 32 others only had one robbery. But there were 25 neighbourhoods (about 10% of neighbourhoods) that had higher robbery rates than the highest robbery rate in Toronto (Bay Street Corridor; 640 per 100,000 residents),[14][15] such as Lord Selkirk Park with a rate of 4,395.6.,[16] or South Portage at 4,139.8. The two highest rankings are South Point Douglas (11,304.3) and Logan-C.P.R. (6,333.3) but both have lower populations under 1,000 residents. Lord Selkirk Park and South Portage compare to some of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the United States of America,[17] however no ranking is 100% certain as Canada and the USA have different classifications for crimes, (robbery is one though that both countries use the same), and there are also no recorded assault rates for Winnipeg neighbourhoods.

The 20 neighbourhoods in Winnipeg with the highest robbery rates, all have boundaries which connect to each other;[9][13][18] South Point Douglas, Logan - C.P.R., Lord Selkirk Park, South Portage, Portage - Ellice, Dufferin Industrial, Spence, Central Park, St. John's Park, William Whyte, West Alexander, North Point Douglas, Centennial, Colony, China Town, Dufferin, Daniel Mcintyre, St. John's, Portage & Main and West Broadway; which in 2006 had a cumulative population of 54,255.[19] In 2012, with 918 robberies (1692.9 per 100,000 people),[9] this geographical cluster is where the majority of violent crime happens in Winnipeg - 918 of the 1,812 (50.7%) robberies in the city, occurred in this area, where only 8.7% of the cities total population lives.[13][19] From 2009 to 2013, 95 of the 145 (65.5%) homicides in Winnipeg occurred in this smaller portion of the city,[20] creating an average homicide rate of 35.0 per 100,000 residents, peaking at 57.1 in 2011. If we subtract these areas from the city, the homicide rate average in Winnipeg is substantially lower at 1.8 per 100,000 people, and the robbery rate in the city is over 1,000% lower at 156.7.

Property crime
This graph shows the trends for Winnipeg's property crime.

Neighbourhoods

Only neighborhoods with over 1,000 people, and more than one homicide are accounted for in this table. These rates are from 4 years, 2009 to 2012.

There are over 25 other neighbourhoods with homicides, however they did not qualify

Crime by District

The City of Winnipeg has five distinct police districts:[29]

  • District 1 - City Centre
  • District 2 - St. James / Assiniboia
  • District 3 - Lord Selkirk / West Kildonan
  • East District - St. Boniface / St. Vital / Elmwood / East Kildonan / North Kildonan / Transcona
  • District 6 - Assiniboine Park / Fort Rouge / Fort Garry
Crime by District, 2011[30]
District 1 District 2 District 3 East District District 6 Not District Specific
Violent Crime 2,958 633 2,348 1,575 940 31
Property Crimes 7,691 3,697 6,414 7,732 5,309 1,019
Other Crimes 12,689 4,798 10,707 10,355 6,816 1,067
Total Area 14.22 km2 (5.49 sq mi) 65.11 km2 (25.14 sq mi) 65.28 km2 (25.20 sq mi) 174.37 km2 (67.32 sq mi) 156.22 km2 (60.32 sq mi)

Manitoba

In 2011, Manitoba had the highest violent crime rate and homicide rate of all Canadian provinces[31]

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See also
  • List of mayors of Winnipeg, Manitoba

Notes
  1. The populations used for the rates were based on trends on the every-5-year census report. For example, the population on the 2001 Census was 619,544, and in 2006 it was 633,451. Therefore the population used for 2002 was 622,325 and for 2005 it was 630,670. The populations reported on the annual reports are much higher than the census reports, therefore likely inaccurate by an overestimation.
  2. If there are two rates with a "/" between them, it is because there were two different recorded rates. The rate on the left is from the Annual Crime Report, where as on the right is from CrimeStat.
  3. "Other violations causing death" only started showing records in the 2012 report (shows 2011 data as well), meaning from 1991 to 2010, only includes 1st and 2nd degree murders.
  4. Includes all thefts such as over $5,000, under $5,000, possession of stolen goods and fraud. It doesn't include motor vehicle theft however.

    References
    1. 2012 Annual Crime Report, . Retrieved November 28th, 2013
    2. "BRODBECK: Winnipeg police force still among largest in Canada". Winnipeg Sun. 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
    3. "Statistics Canada, Table Crime severity index".
    4. "Statistics Canada, Non-Violent Crime severity index".
    5. "Statistics Canada. Table 35-10-0026-01, Violent crime severity index".
    6. [https://www.macleans.ca/canadas-most-dangerous-places-2020/ Canada's Most Dangerous Places 2020
    7. Latest numbers crown Winnipeg as Canada’s murder capital, .
    8. Canada Homicide 2011, . Retrieved November 28th, 2013.
    9. "CrimStat". City of Winnipeg. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
    10. Crimes in Canada, by type of violation, and by province and territory, . Retrieved November 28th, 2013
    11. Every Annual Crime Report, . Retrieved November 28th, 2013
    12. Winnipeg Crime Rate Chart
    13. Crime in Winnipeg Neighbourhoods (2012). Retrieved December 3rd, 2013
    14. Crime Map of Toronto. Retrieved November 28th, 2013
    15. Crimes, by type of violation, and by province and territory(Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick)
    16. To get the crime rates, I used the populations from now.Winnipeg [http://now.winnipeg.ca/census and crime figures from CrimeStat retrieved October 2013
    17. NeighborhoodScout's Top 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America, retrieved in mid-2013
    18. Note this list does not include the commercial areas Polo Park or Kensington and the Exchange District due to its residential development after 2006
    19. Winnipeg 2006 Census Profiles Retrieved on 27 February 2014
    20. Winnipeg Homicide Map. Retrieved June-06-2014
    21. Annual Crime Reports: http://www.winnipeg.ca/police/AnnualReports/annualreports.stm
    22. "Winnipeg Homicide Map". CBC News.
    23. http://now.winnipeg.ca/home
    24. http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/08/27/homicide-unit-on-dead-body-case
    25. "2 Teens Charged in Baseball Bat Beating Death". CBC News.
    26. "Missing Winnipeg woman's family seeks leads". CBC News.
    27. http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/05/21/victims-family-talks
    28. City of Winnipeg Neighbourhood Profiles
    29. "About the Service Winnipeg Police Districts". City of Winnipeg. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
    30. "Annual Report 2011" (PDF). City of Winnipeg. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
    31. , StatCan 2011 Crime by Province/Territory
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