New Transit safety officers getting to know community

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This article was published 19/01/2024 (658 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One week into their month-long training, 21 community safety officers have toured Winnipeg Transit facilities across the city, undergone two days of Indigenous awareness training and begun building connections with grassroots representatives.

Community advocate Mitch Bourbonniere, who met with the recruits Friday, said he is looking forward to what the new City of Winnipeg program will bring to the streets.

“My hope is that all Winnipeggers, including our most vulnerable folks who deal with mental illness, addiction and homelessness, will be helped,” Bourbonniere said.

“I’m looking to a non-confrontational, de-escalation intervention on all our buses and in all of our bus shelters. I want every one to be looked after in a good way.”

The safety program — a pledge by Mayor Scott Gillingham during the 2022 civic election campaign — comes about after a number of violent incidents on Transit buses and in its shelters in recent years.

In 2023, there were 104 reported assaults against bus drivers. There have also been issues with people experiencing homeless taking over Transit shelters for long periods.

The community safety officers are expected to not only intervene with mental health crises and physical incidents, but also help administer trauma care and first aid. They are being issued special uniforms, as well as handcuffs and protective gear. If necessary, they will have the power to detain and arrest people.

Bob Chrismas, a former longtime Winnipeg Police Service officer, is in charge of making the community safety team a reality. He said the goal is to see its members out on the street in late February.

The initial 21 recruits, along with two supervisors, come from all walks of life, he said.

“We had a lot of interest and we had several hundred applicants,” Chrismas said as the new officers finished their first week of training. “They are a diverse group. We have five women and they all are age diverse, older and younger, culturally diverse and experience diverse.”

While some have a social work or police background, others come from civic departments including the bylaw office and Transit.

The salary range is between $80,000 to $100,000, so the people hired can make the position a career, Chrismas said.

“It is the hope it is not ‘wannabe police,’ but people who want to make a social impact with their work,” he said.

“I think the community needs this. I care about this community. I’m proud and privileged to do it.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca