Winnipeg tops ‘unsafe’ list: poll

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This article was published 16/08/2016 (3683 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It should be no surprise a recent national poll says Canadians believe — incorrectly — Winnipeg is the country’s least-safe city, an expert on the fear of crime said.

Winnipeg hasn’t been Canada’s homicide capital for years, but its former title will take a long time to live down, said University of Winnipeg criminal justice Prof. Michael Weinrath.

“One of the things that seems to stick in people’s minds are homicides,” the director of the Justice Research Institute said Tuesday. “It’s an empirical fact Winnipeg was the No. 1 homicide city for a number of years. Even when we’re not No. 1, we’re second or third.

“For a long time, in the public’s mind, there’s a perception it’s a high-crime place.”

The Mainstreet/Postmedia poll of 4,231 Canadians released Tuesday shows among 15 major cities surveyed, Ottawa is seen as the safest city while Winnipeg is seen as the least safe. (The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.52 per cent, 19 times out of 20.)

Recent crime statistics, however, show Saskatoon has the highest crime rate in the country.

The poll results don’t jibe with reality, Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman and Economic Development Winnipeg president and CEO Dayna Spiring told reporters.

“Obviously, the facts support the fact Winnipeg is attracting more visitors than ever before,” said Bowman. “What we’re seeing when we have visitors come to Winnipeg is their view is overwhelmingly improved when they arrive here. We’ve seen an increasing number of sport tourists in recent years, whether it’s FIFA, the Grey Cup, the Heritage Classic coming up this fall and, of course, the (2017) Canada Summer Games.

“These are events that provide us with an opportunity to demonstrate to Canadians from coast to coast to coast that Winnipeg is not only a great place to live but it’s a great place to visit and invest in.”

Bowman said when people visit the city for conventions or to attend sporting events, they leave with a favourable impression of Winnipeg.

Surveys of visitors repeatedly show they leave Winnipeg with a positive image of the city, said Spiring.

It is the message her organization and local residents need to spread, she said.

“We’ve got to do a better job of telling the Winnipeg story,” she said.

While Winnipeg’s crime rate was trending downward for the past 10 years, Statistics Canada reported recently police-reported crime went up by five per cent across the country in 2015, the first jump in 12 years.

Violent crime increased by six per cent across Canada, while non-violent crime increased by four per cent.

In July, the Winnipeg Police Service’s 2015 statistical report showed violent crime went up six per cent between 2014 and 2015, while property crimes rose by nine per cent.

The StatsCan report said police-reported crime was still 31 per cent lower than in 2005.

“Things have really improved in the last 20 years,” said Weinrath. “You do have to point out to people that our crime rate is going down, that most Winnipeggers are safe most of the time.”

Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Rob Carver said they can’t change perceptions at a national level.

“I don’t think there’s anything Winnipeg police can do — perceptions are complex and built up over a long period of time,” he said in an interview.

Carver said the media has been quick to pick up on negative stories while ignoring positive ones.

He pointed to all the attention paid last year to Maclean’s magazine labelling Winnipeg as Canada’s most racist city while ignoring an earlier Maclean’s article, The Manitoba miracle, which hailed positive trends and a piece that ran in January headlined, Winnipeg a leader in fixing Canada’s racism problem.

On Tuesday, Bowman highlighted National Geographic Travel recently rating Winnipeg as one of the world’s top 20 tourist destinations for 2016 ­— the only Canadian city named in its report.

Folklorama recently attracted almost “half-a-million visitors,” the mayor said, adding he wants to see how perceptions change over the coming years.

“Let’s have that discussion a few years from now because we know… when people come here (their perception) is improved,” Bowman said.

“Perceptions are slow to change,” agreed Carver.

“They don’t necessarily reflect reality. There’s some very positive changes taking place from a law enforcement and safety standpoint.”

The police spokesman said there’s nothing the force can do about national perceptions, but at a local and community level, perceptions are changing with people being safe and feeling safe.

“From a community level and a city level, we’re making really positive strides here.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.caaldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca