Portage la Prairie safety officer program praised

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This article was published 18/08/2025 (221 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shoe retailer Rusty Anderson has had multiple interactions with Portage la Prairie’s community safety officers over the past year.

The program has made him — and, he believes — other local business owners and employees feel a little safer.

The co-owner of Pure Footwear said an intoxicated person walked into the store last summer, sat down and fell asleep. Customers walked out.

“We didn’t know how to handle it,” Anderson said. “When you have somebody like that on your premises, it makes everybody uncomfortable.”

A call was placed, and within minutes, three safety officers arrived and took control without escalating the situation.

“They spoke with him, and after about 90 seconds, the individual was told that he was leaving one way or another, but they did so without force,” Anderson said.

“They were able to talk to him, get him out of the store willingly and defuse what could have turned into a dangerous situation. They weren’t harsh. It didn’t seem to be offensive. There was no grabbing or pushing. Everybody just walked out and moved on with their lives without a major event.”

It was the first time the store had used the program, which had been operating in the city for a only few months at that time.

Launched in spring 2024, it provides an intermediate level of policing; officers are able to arrest and detain, if necessary.

There are now six full-time officers, one part time and a supervisor who oversees the team’s work.

“Council made community safety and well-being one of their top priorities, and they were looking for ways to make an impact on that,” Portage city manager Nicole Chychota said.

“It has been an incredibly great asset to the city, being able to support local business and do a lot of foot and bike patrols, really focusing on being a good first point of contact for non-violent crimes, and really building connections with people.

“Honestly, you can’t walk too far in Portage where you don’t come across them.”

Recently, the city extended the program’s hours, which now run from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., offering a broader range of coverage throughout the community. That came after data showed more incidents occurring later in the evening.

City statistics show that in the first quarter of 2025, the team responded to 108 service calls — a number that nearly doubled in the second quarter to 198. Calls related to city bylaws, animal control and intoxicated persons all increased.

The city report noted a “significant upward trend in activity and awareness” of the program.

Crime rates in the city dipped slightly in the most recent quarter compared with the same period last year, with municipal calls for service decreasing to 2,309 from 2,465.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Darcy Turko told city council recently that part of the improvement can be attributed to the safety officers.

The Mounties provide municipal police service in Portage and the surrounding area.

“We have always been very supportive of the community safety officer program and have been working closely with the City of Portage la Prairie to help ensure its success,” Turko told the Free Press.

“For our officers, it’s been a very effective and helpful resource. The most important aspect of this whole program is the ability to provide increased safety and security to residents, as it allows our officers to get to those high-priority calls as soon as they come in.

“It’s been a positive from the start, and through the program, we’ve already seen the benefits as far as crime reduction, especially with offences such as shoplifting.”

Anderson said he believes that and feels the safety officers’ presence alone has made a big impact.

“Not only do they defuse a potentially dangerous situation, they prevent them, too,” he said, adding the officers frequently pop in to ask how things are.

“In fact, on one occasion, they noticed a person who was familiar to them and stopped to have a chat with them. We are really pleased with their presence.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca