Community tip line making difference, but funds about to dry up, organizer says

Six months after launching a community-run crime tip line in William Whyte, the group behind the initiative is preparing to ask the province for additional funding to keep the program alive.

Darrell Warren, president of the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association, said $20,000 provided through the provincial property crime forfeiture fund last year will dry up in May.

“It’s a big asset. I didn’t think it would be as popular as it is,” Warren said Monday.

“There are a lot of good people in these neighbourhoods who are affected by this stuff and they do want to get involved. This gives them the tools they need. The police are stretched to the limits right now and we need to be those eyes and ears out in the neighbourhood.”

Warren, who launched the tip line in September, said it has averaged between two and three calls per day. Tipsters provide information on a range of issues, including theft, suspected drug dealing and vacant buildings. The service allows them to report suspicious activity and support police efforts without revealing their identities or dealing directly with officers.

The provincial dollars have allowed the neighbourhood association to pay an honorarium to volunteers who field calls daily between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Warren said he believes information collected by his team contributed to the closure of four “drug houses” in the area. He is working with people in the Dufferin neighbourhood to establish a similar service there.

“The police are stretched to the limits right now and we need to be those eyes and ears out in the neighbourhood.”

Information provided by the public is a valuable resource to help investigators identify and arrest suspected criminals, agreed Winnipeg Police Service Const. Claude Chancy.

“They are the ones who are more likely to witness ongoing illegal activity, and that kind of reporting provides us a basis for the investigations that we carry out,” Chancy said.

“There’s always a positive aspect of community involvement in protection and safety.”

Last week, officers acted on tips provided by people living in the Elmwood neighbourhood to raid a home on the 1-99 block of Watt Street that was a suspected hotbed of criminal activity. Police believe drugs sold there could be responsible for 30 reported overdoses over the past two months, although further investigation could reveal more, Chancy said.

Two men, aged 40 and 44, have been charged with multiple firearms, drug trafficking, possession of stolen property and proceeds of crime offences.

Police say they seized various guns, 174 grams of methamphetamine, 50 grams of fentanyl, four grams of hydromorphone, cellphones, drug-packaging materials, power tools and $1,725 in cash.

While Elmwood does not have a dedicated community tip line, such as the one in William Whyte, some residents living in the area said they would like to see one created.

“I think it would work,” said Cindy Ritcher, who lives near the home that was raided on Watt Street.

“Everybody in the neighbourhood knew about that house being a problem.”

Betty Palen, who also lives on Watt Street, said she, too, would support a community tip line.

“Everybody in the neighbourhood knew about that house being a problem.”

“There are a lot of people who are constantly being affected by break-ins, robberies, getting their cars broken into, people stealing things from their yards,” Palen said. “I just think it’s a great idea. It’s nice to have something grassroots to help because we are all in this together,” she said.

Mynarski Coun. Ross Eadie — whose ward encompasses William Whyte — said the tip line program could certainly be replicated in neighbourhoods elsewhere in the city, but they are difficult to operate without funding.

“They are good to have for people who don’t trust calling the police,” he said. “But it’s hard to sustain if it’s all just volunteers… finding a lot of volunteers these days is very difficult.”

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said in October that the province is willing to provide funding through the criminal property forfeiture fund to help support the creation of other tip lines in the city — but as of Monday, no new groups have stepped forward.

“We’re open to the idea. Again, each community is going to have different needs and different concerns,” Wiebe said. “I really think there is a strong value for that engagement, but it needs to be done in a way that’s constructive.”

The minister pointed to Winnipeg Crime Stoppers as another avenue for concerned residents to support police efforts.

Like the community-based tip lines, Crime Stoppers allows people to provide information anonymously.

“If somebody is just complaining on Facebook or just hitting social media to share their views, it’s not as constructive, so we want them to do it in a constructive way, in a positive way, and to report to the police when you see something and be a part of the solution that way, as well,” Wiebe said.

— With files from Malak Abas

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca