‘We’ll send someone out if we’re not too busy’ Biz owner bemoans hour-plus wait for police after robbery; WPS swamped with high-priority calls By: Chris Kitching Posted: 5:44 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 28, 2024

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This article was published 28/05/2024 (785 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After a woman robbed Colin Finlay’s Winnipeg bakery — leaving two employees terrified — he spent more than an hour waiting for police to arrive before giving up.

Finlay said he was already frustrated the crime wasn’t a higher priority, given what his wife, Menchie, was told when she called 911 to report the theft.

“They had said, ‘We’ll send someone out if we’re not too busy,’” said Finlay, who co-owns two Cinnaholic franchises with his wife.

He said he understands police resources are stretched due to a high number of calls, and there is a need to address social issues, such as poverty or addictions, that contribute to some crimes.

However, lengthy response times or a lack of consequences are encouraging thieves to target businesses at a time when many small retailers are struggling, he said.

“If we continue to let things go as they are, where people are able to do these crimes without consequence and without someone stopping them, I worry that just empowers them to continue doing it more and more,” said Finlay.

Staff alerted him when a woman stole about $300 in cash from the Cinnaholic on McPhillips Street, near Kingsbury Avenue, last Saturday night — a day before the shop was to celebrate its second anniversary.

Finlay said the woman spoke to an employee before smashing through a gate that acted as a barrier to a staff area behind a counter.

The frightened employee — a newcomer from the Philippines who had been in Canada for only a month — ran toward the back and told a co-worker what was unfolding.

The robber helped herself to the cash, while the employees fled to a place of safety.

“They were afraid they were going to get hurt,” said Finlay.

No customers were inside at the time. The woman did not show a weapon and no one was injured.

Finlay’s wife was on the phone with 911, while he drove to the bakery. After making sure the workers were OK, the couple attempted to preserve the scene for police.

No one showed up, after 60 to 90 minutes of waiting, said Finlay.

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As they got into their car to go home, he noticed a police car pulling into the Garden City bakery’s shared parking lot. The officers were going to a neighbouring restaurant for a dinner break, he said.

They took evidence and a statement, after Finlay explained the robbery and the wait. He said he was appreciative of the “kind and professional” officers who sacrificed part of their break.

It’s unclear how long he would have waited for police to arrive or call him, if not for the chance encounter. The suspect had been arrested as of Tuesday.

Finlay said he has since learned of other commercial robberies that night.

He said the bakery, which has experienced other incidents, already had multiple security measures, including cameras and a panic button on an alarm system, to deter crime or support staff.

It will no longer accept cash in a bid to prevent robberies. Finlay said the switch will result in more transaction fees for his business and create a barrier for people who do not use electronic payments.

Winnipeg police spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said crimes where there is a danger to life are given the highest priority.

“If we have no other priority 1 and 2 calls, we will send someone.”–Const. Dani McKinnon

Calls in which an unarmed suspect has left a scene or there is no danger to life are assigned a lower priority, she said, while acknowledging the categorization may not be comforting for some victims.

In less-urgent situations, response times can depend on a range of factors, such as the number of existing high-priority calls or whether officers are available, said McKinnon.

Descriptions of suspects are broadcast to officers to keep an eye out, even if no one is immediately available to respond, she added.

“If we have no other priority 1 and 2 calls, we will send someone,” said McKinnon.

Priority 1 and 2 calls are incidents in which there is a danger to life or impending danger to a person. Officers responded to more than 22,000 of those calls in 2022, a figure that was 18 per cent higher than the five-year average, according to WPS data.

Police responded to nearly 92,000 “urgent” (priority 3 and 4) calls and almost 120,000 reports categorized as non-urgent.

Average response times were not immediately available.

Response times a top priority

A police satisfaction survey conducted earlier this year suggested quick response times are the top priority for Winnipeg residents.

Only 39 per cent of respondents said they believe the WPS does a good or excellent job of promptly responding to calls — a drop from 51 per cent in a 2019 survey.

On Monday, Food Fare co-owner Munther Zeid said people who repeatedly commit property crimes, such as shoplifting, know police are occupied with higher priorities.

“They know stores don’t have time to detain them and wait until the police arrive,” he said, while discussing an arson attack that happened outside Food Fare’s West End store last week. “The police are doing what they can. They are pushed a lot.”

John Graham of the Retail Council of Canada said businesses are concerned and frustrated by an uptick in property crimes, threats to safety and cost implications.

Some people refuse to take retail jobs because of the potential for harm, said Finlay.

The provincial retail crime task force — which includes business, police and Manitoba Justice representatives — has discussed ways to triage calls for help and better utilize existing resources.

There are social issues Manitoba can’t arrest its way out of, said Graham, while noting calls for further efforts to address so-called root causes of crime.

“We’re at a really critical point in our community, where businesses are under financial pressure and they’re very concerned around the safety of their customers and employees,” said Graham.

“At the same time, you have people who are undeterred and see limited consequences. It’s creating a real tension that truly concerns me, as far as what types of outcomes could occur.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.