WPS shopping for second armoured vehicle with funds from seized criminal property Armoured van purchase set to go to tender By: Erik Pindera Posted: 6:33 PM CST Monday, Nov. 18, 2024

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This article was published 18/11/2024 (292 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Police Service is moving to purchase a second armoured vehicle for its fleet, this time using funding provided by the province.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe announced $647,000 in new criminal property forfeiture funding for city police last week, about $415,000 of which is earmarked for new equipment, including a “protective rescue van.”

The van purchase is in the process of going to tender, WPS Supt. Brian Miln, who oversees operational support, said Monday afternoon. He did not say how much of the $415,000 would be spent on the vehicle.

“We don’t exactly know (which manufacturers) have the capability to meet the specs of the tender, but that’s the whole purpose of the tender is to see who can put in competitive bids and, of course, meet the minimum specifications needed,” said Miln.

He said the new vehicle will have similar capabilities to the armour-plated Gurkha tactical vehicle the WPS purchased for $343,000 in 2015, but will look more like something civilians drive.

The 6.8-tonne Gurkha, which is bulletproof and has ballistic and explosion protection, looks similar to vehicles used in war zones.

Its purchase raised eyebrows among critics who questioned how the use of the vehicle would be perceived by the public and whether the city was being influenced by the militarization of police in the U.S., where the use of former military and other tactical equipment is extensive among law-enforcement agencies.

Miln said the new van will be used as a supplement to the existing vehicle, to provide police the ability to cover more of a location, rather than having a vehicle deployed on one side of a building, with other officers behind shields, for example.

“It really starts with officer safety, it’s what it’s all about,” said Miln. “I don’t think it’s any secret that firearm violence and the prevalence of firearms has exponentially increased over the last decade, especially in the last six, seven years in the City of Winnipeg.”

The Gurkha is used by tactical officers and crisis negotiators, among others, in high-risk situations such as standoffs and at calls involving confirmed or suspected guns.

Miln emphasized that the purpose of having the vehicles is to ensure officers are afforded the best available protection.

“We have to provide officers the tools that they need to do their job effectively and safely,” he said.

“At the end of the day, do we want these tools? No, we don’t, but the reality of the current environment is that we need these tools, we have to give our members the tools that they require so that they go home at the end of the day.”

He said police are called to calls requiring such protection, at minimum, weekly.

St. Norbert-Seine River Coun. Markus Chambers, who chairs the Winnipeg Police Board, declined to comment Monday afternoon, as he was travelling.

The Gurkha purchase raised additional concerns about transparency, after the WPS awarded a tender for the purchase without first consulting with the Winnipeg Police Board. The board rules, which, at the time, gave the police chief the authority to use up to $500,000 on operational purchases not included in the service’s capital budget, were then amended to ensure all police purchases over $100,000 go before the board.

The balance of the provincial funding granted to WPS last week is slated for mental health and trauma-informed training for police ($100,000), engagement on an Indigenous advisory council ($30,000) and various other programs.

The forfeiture fund program distributes proceeds from the sale of seized criminal property to law-enforcement agencies and other organizations in Manitoba.

The province is able to apply in Court of King’s Bench to confiscate seized property and money obtained by crime, or used to commit crimes, by filing lawsuits.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca