Sharp rise in violent crime in 2023, stats show Youths both victims, and perpetrators: police By: Chris Kitching Posted: 10:26 AM CDT Tuesday, Jun. 18, 2024 Last Modified: 10:33 AM CDT Wednesday, Jun. 19, 2024 Updates

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Reports of violent crime in Winnipeg increased for the third year in a row in 2023 amid a slight drop in overall crime, new police data showed Tuesday.

The Winnipeg Police Service’s annual report for 2023 also showed a record number of calls from the public and upward trends of youths accused of violent crime, prompting an appeal for a holistic approach.

“We can’t arrest our way out of this problem,” Supt. Dave Dalal, who oversees the WPS uniform operations, said at a news conference. “These crime problems need to be solved in partnership with other levels of government and community stakeholders. We need other solutions that are addressing the root causes.”

A total of 70,472 crimes were reported last year, down 2.2 per cent compared with 2022 and up 8.6 per cent compared with a five-year average that was influenced by historic lows in the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the WPS said.

The year-over-year decrease was driven by a nearly seven per cent drop in property crimes, including break-ins.

“Violent crime is the exception, as we really didn’t see any downturn during the pandemic and continued to see an upward trend in 2023,” said WPS data analyst David Bowman.

Total violent crimes reported to police (15,074 in all) were up 12.1 per cent compared with 2022 and 31.4 per cent with the five-year average. The rise was driven by increases in assaults and robberies.

There were decreases in some types of violent crime, such as homicides and sexual offences.

The victims and suspects in nearly half of all violent crimes did not know each other, said Bowman.

Winnipeg’s total crime severity index dropped by 4.6 per cent year-over-year. Its violent crime severity increased by 2.2 per cent to the second-highest level on record, which Bowman said is nearly on par with the peak year of 2009.

Crime severity figures, calculated for Statistics Canada, consider the volume and seriousness of offences. Each offence is given a weight derived from average sentences handed down by the courts, said Bowman.

In 2022, Winnipeg had the worst total crime severity index and the second-worst violent crime severity in Canada, said Bowman. Comparisons for 2023 are not yet available.

After years of decline, youth crimes trended upward for the second consecutive year (23.1 per cent over 2022 and 14.3 per cent over the five-year average).

Bowman said youth violent crimes continued to rise at a higher rate than total violent crimes (adults and youths).

The number of youths accused of violent crimes jumped by almost 16 per cent year-over-year and 43 per cent over the five-year average.

Youth crimes involving a weapon have doubled since 2021. Youths account for one in five people charged with a weapons crime, said Bowman.

Nearly half of all youths accused of a crime were given a warning, caution or a referral to a community or diversion program rather than a criminal charge.

The WPS said 77 youths were under 12 and could not be charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

A recent operation, dubbed Project Surge, used data to target 30 minors who the WPS said were involved in up to one-third of all youth crimes in the city and almost always armed when arrested.

Prolific youth criminals tend to lack supports, structure or supervision, the WPS said.

“We’re talking about what is their home situation? Are they going to school?” said Dalal. “Why are they out all hours of the night with other youth? Who’s watching them?

“We need to look at a whole wraparound services of these youth to find out what’s driving them into this lifestyle and what’s going to get them out of this lifestyle. In some cases, it might be incarceration for some for a period of time until we can get them into the proper support programs, and that’s why we need to work with government.”

Bowman said a record 46 hate crimes were reported in 2023, reflecting a national uptick.

About 27 per cent of all crimes were deemed “cleared” — resulting in a charge, diversion or a victim deciding not to pursue the matter, for example — up from 24 per cent in 2022.

The clearance rate for homicides was slightly above 80 per cent.

The WPS cited targeted or data-driven enforcement, collaboration to address “root causes” and additional government funding as possible ways to help tackle crime.

“We only have so many resources. We need to be very focused in where we focus our resources and make sure that we’re making the greatest impact of the officers we have,” said Dalal.

He said mental health and drug crises are putting a strain on front-line officers.

Supt. Cam Mackid, who oversees criminal investigations, said illicit drugs fuel “a lot” of crime in Winnipeg.

Demand for police continued to rise in 2023. The WPS said it received more than 783,248 calls for service — a new annual high, about 10 per cent more than 2022’s total.

Well-being checks continued to be the top citizen-generated event for the WPS for the fourth straight year. There were more than 21,000 last year, up from about 15,000 in 2018.

Bowman said the WPS complement of officers increased by 10 to 1,366 in 2023, while the city’s population climbed to 815,599. He said the officer-to-population ratio has been shrinking since 2012.

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While a majority of violent crimes involve physical force, knife crimes jumped by 21.6 per cent, gun crimes increased by 5.6 per cent and offences involving other weapons, such as baseball bats or broken bottles, saw a 16.6 per cent spike.

Weapons crimes occurred most frequently in the downtown and Point Douglas areas, data showed.

The use of bear spray plunged by nearly 25 per cent, after a record high in 2022. The WPS cited sale restrictions that were introduced by the previous Progressive Conservative provincial government last year.

Traffic and drug crimes increased by 2.8 per cent and 10.9 per cent, respectively.

Reports of shoplifting jumped by 45.4 per cent over 2022 and have nearly doubled since 2021. However, the total is below 2019 and 2020 figures fuelled by liquor store thefts.

The installation of controlled entrances at Liquor Marts contributed to an increase in retail thefts elsewhere, the WPS has said.

Bowman said reports of thefts from vehicles dropped by almost 25 per cent, largely due to a sharp decrease in catalytic converter thefts. The Tories introduced tracing and other measures in a crackdown alongside police last year.

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.