Rising anti-government, anti-authority attitudes affecting city police: report

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This article was published 29/11/2022 (1404 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Police Service is facing an increase in anti-government and anti-authority sentiment, which poses a growing challenge for operations, according to a new report.

That is a key finding of The Environment for Policing in Winnipeg report, which will be discussed at the Winnipeg Police Board’s Friday meeting.

“Increasingly, there is public expression of anti-government and anti-authority feelings… that can affect institutional trust,” the report notes.

The comments come after council heard multiple calls from advocates to decrease the police budget over recent years and spend more money on recreation, libraries and other services instead. Many argued certain calls that police routinely answer would be much better handled by social-service organizations.

“There are still a number of proponents of the police abolishment movement including defund police,” the report states.

The Winnipeg police budget was set at $319.7 million for 2022, with both capital and operating costs factored in.

The report notes police have initiated some programs to alter the response to certain 911 calls, including the Alternative Response to Citizens in Crisis (ARCC) pilot project, which allows a plainclothes officer and a mental-health clinician to be dispatched to assist WPS general patrol as they respond to mental-health crises.

Noting increased scrutiny over the WPS budget, the report insists it can’t be cut without reducing staff levels.

“The bulk of costs are for personnel. Less funding means less personnel as infrastructure costs (i.e., buildings, capital expenditures related to equipment) are primarily fixed,” the report states.

The document also states that police officer numbers have already declined in recent years. There were 196.7 officers per 100,000 people in 2016, and that number dropped to 176.7 per 100,000 in 2021.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga