Funding for anonymous tip lines seeks to return power to neighbourhoods

Manitoba’s justice minister says funding is on the table for communities that want to set up “power lines” — a non-police option to report suspicious activity.

Through the provincial criminal property forfeiture fund, $20,000 has been provided to the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association, which launched its line two months ago and fields two to three anonymous calls a day.

“Because this is an existing model, and one that is proven, we know that if this is something (communities) come forward with, we’re willing to consider it,” Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said Monday at a news conference at Pritchard Playground on Pritchard Avenue. “The residents have to drive this process; they have to want it.”

Six months ago, longtime William Whyte resident Darrell Warren and a team of volunteers applied for the funding. The “power line” concept was pioneered in 2007 in Point Douglas by community advocate Sel Burrows.

Four months later, the William Whyte association received the grant and set up a phone line (431-336-5705) where residents can anonymously report suspicious activity.

William Whyte, an eight-by-nine-block inner-city neighbourhood, is Winnipeg’s most violent, the Winnipeg Police Service’s 2024 report said. It recorded 619 violent incidents, surpassing West Alexander’s 570, the second-highest total.

Since the line launched, Warren said six volunteers have been working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, and receive an honorarium for their time. They have a list of questions to ask and rules to maintain, including not allowing anyone who calls to identify themselves or where they live. A coordinator also works to forward information to police.

“A lot of drug houses… bylaw infractions and houses that are dealing stolen goods,” said Warren of the calls they are getting, adding that one such house has had eight calls forwarded to police. He expects as word gets out, both the number of volunteers and the calls they receive are expected to grow.

He hopes the concept expands citywide and is willing to help others communities get set up.

“We want to make sure we get it right,” Warren said. “We want to make it a community again, where people feel safe and will be able to walk down the streets here… as free as anyone else that enjoys that in their neighbourhood.”

The funding covers one year of operations. Warren said the long-term goal is to educate residents to call Crime Stoppers directly. The challenge, he added, is that many people mistakenly believe the program that accepts anonymous tips is a department of the Winnipeg Police Service.

“A lot of people have the misconception that if you’re phoning Crime Stoppers, you’re phoning the Winnipeg police, so there could be a chance Winnipeg police come knocking at your door to get more information,” Warren said. “They’re not a part of that. This is a misconception that I’m working with them to dissolve. Hopefully, people in the neighbourhood can report to them instead of reporting to us.”

Rob MacKenzie, chair of Winnipeg Crime Stoppers, said Warren is focused on building trust in his community so residents feel comfortable making calls directly.

MacKenzie acknowledged it is difficult to separate Crime Stoppers from police because of their close relationship, but emphasized every call is anonymous and community-driven.

“The idea that Sel Burrows brought to Point Douglas, and now has been brought to William Whyte — (Crime Stoppers) is essentially the same idea,” MacKenzie said, adding the non-profit fields an average of 500 tips per month.

When Burrows first set up the Point Douglas Power Line in 2007, the neighbourhood had the highest rate of violent crime in Canada, with residents making 10 to 15 calls a day. Now, it’s around three to four calls per week.

Burrows credits the system with cutting the number of local drug dealers from 32 in 2007 to three today. Police data show crime in Point Douglas has dropped five per cent in the past year and 3.5 per cent over five years.

“When we set it up in 2007, we didn’t know what we were doing. We didn’t have a clue,” Burrows said, adding that community angst led him to give out his own number, where people could call and report crime and suspicious activity, which would then be forwarded to police.

“My phone number has been on a fridge magnet and in a flyer for (nearly 20 years), and I’ve never had a prank call,” Burrows said. “Everybody who calls us respected it for what it’s for. People want to make the communities stronger.”

Burrows hopes forfeiture funds will help expand power lines across all of Winnipeg’s low-income neighbourhoods.

“We need to look at giving power back to the people in the community,” he said.

Tip lines are also in place in the city’s Notre Dame ward, which encompasses Sargent Park, Daniel McIntyre and West Alexander neighbourhoods. The number is 204-588-7111.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca