Mayor to launch weekly bulletin on bail offenders

Mayor Scott Gillingham has announced he will launch a weekly “repeat offender bulletin” to pressure the federal government to reform laws that govern the bail system.

“This is about the safety of Winnipeg. It’s about Winnipeggers who are tired and fed up with all the crime going on committed by repeat offenders,” he said.

The bulletin will “highlight local examples of habitual offenders and their impact on safety in Winnipeg” without naming them, the mayor said.

“We can talk about calls for bail reform… but by giving real examples of real individuals, it shows where the system, in my mind, is broken and needs to be changed.”

Gillingham wants the bulletin to illustrate the scope of the problem in Winnipeg, and send a message to the public and senior levels of government that such actions should no longer be tolerated, he said.

He proposed legislative changes that would give judges less discretion on when to grant release, instead compelling them to keep repeat offenders behind bars.

A spate of recent high-profile criminal cases involving people out on bail, including last week’s mass stabbing in Hollow Water First Nation in which a man killed his younger sister and injured seven people, has drawn the ire of the public.

Tyrone Simard, 26, was accused of committing the offence while out on bail and awaiting proceedings on a charge of assault with a weapon and mischief. He was released with conditions, including non-contact orders in relation to four of the people involved in the Sept. 4 attack.

Manitoba Progressive Conservative leader Obby Khan issued a similar demand for bail reform this week, after an arrest warrant was issued for James Hilton, 24, who left a Winnipeg treatment centre.

Hilton was ordered to remain at the centre while awaiting court proceedings in connection with a fatal crash near Portage la Prairie, which he is accused of causing while driving a stolen truck and being impaired. Court records show he had previous charges for violating release conditions at the time of the January crash.

Earlier this month, four teenagers were accused of robbing a Winnipeg Walmart. A security guard was nearly shot with an airgun during the crime, and it was later revealed two of the teens had been out on bail.

Gillingham said he is moving ahead with the bulletins after meeting with federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser, who confirmed Ottawa plans to introduce bail-reform legislation.

Parliament begins its fall sitting Monday, but Gillingham said there is no clear date on when a bill might be introduced or whether proposed legislation would address Winnipeg’s concerns. He encouraged Winnipeggers to write to their member of Parliament or email Fraser regarding bail reform.

Winnipeg Police Service Chief Gene Bowers said city police support the weekly bulletin and will provide the mayor’s office with information about prolific offenders.

“This is an issue that’s on everybody’s minds,” he told reporters after meeting with the Winnipeg Police Board.

Bowers said arrests involving repeat offenders are a drain on WPS resources.

“I couldn’t give you exact numbers, but I know it is the highest percentage of (any) type of arrest that we do in the uniform division.”

“This is an issue that’s on everybody’s minds.”

Coun. Markus Chambers, who chairs the police board, is firmly behind the mayor’s plan.

“I wholeheartedly agree with it,” Chambers said. “The public has a right to be aware of what they’re facing, and with repeat violent offenders on our streets, they need to be aware and it’s about a matter of safety.”

Both Chambers and Gillingham also spoke about the need for additional rehabilitation support for people in custody.

“I’m not a ‘put people in jail and throw away the key’ guy,” Gillingham said. “There needs to be the right investment in individuals and rehabilitation so that there is a better chance… that they have an opportunity to turn their lives around.”

The mayor’s push for bail reform comes on the heels of a Probe Research survey, conducted for the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.

It found 88 per cent of Manitobans strongly agree or somewhat agree that the federal government needs to reform the bail system to hold repeat offenders accountable and to prevent crime.

The survey also found 72 per cent of Manitobans want the federal government to fund more policing.

Kathy Valentino, president of the association and a third-term councillor in Thompson, said she’s not surprised by the poll numbers.

“It definitely confirms what we hear is happening,” Valentino said, adding they timed the survey release to coincide with the return of federal politicians to Ottawa.

“Crime is on the rise in rural Manitoba and these repeat offenders committing crimes and attacks and then are back on the street just has to stop.”

Ivan Normandeau, president of the Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities, said the people he represents from smaller and bilingual communities similarly want reform.

“We want the government to know this is a problem,” Normandeau said. “Businesses won’t invest, families won’t put down roots, and communities can’t thrive unless residents feel secure.”

Both Manitoba Bar Association president Stacey Soldier and University of Manitoba associate law professor Brandon Trask believe the mayor’s initiative could undermine the right of accused to have a fair trial.

“The idea that judges, Crowns, defence lawyers aren’t doing their job and conveniently forgetting about public safety is not accurate.”

“This is really concerning,” Soldier said, adding it ignores the principle that most people in pre-trial custody are legally innocent.

“The idea that judges, Crowns, defence lawyers aren’t doing their job and conveniently forgetting about public safety is not accurate.”

Trask called the bulletins problematic.

“This proposed approach by the mayor seems consistent with a common practice by the Winnipeg Police Service to often claim in press releases, until recently, that an individual was released on an undertaking as mandated by the Criminal Code, which typically was inaccurate but served to shift the public’s attention away from criticism of the police and the municipal government, where the focus was then placed on the federal government.”

The Probe survey, which sampled 1,000 Manitoba adults, from both the research company’s proprietary panel and a national online panel, between July 24 to Aug. 11, doesn’t have a margin of error because it is a non-probability sample taken in an online survey.

—With files from Kevin Rollason

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca