Police cracking down on gangs, organized crime in bars and lounges

Patrons can expect to see more police officers in and around bars and lounges in the coming months as the Winnipeg Police Service plans to crack down on gangs and organized crime.

Uniformed officers will be patrolling bars, lounges and other licensed establishments, targeting gang members and people associated with organized crime. Priority will be given to those who pose the greatest risk to public safety, WPS said in a news release Tuesday.

“We’ve seen — time and time again — where people involved in gangs, in organized crime, attract violence or commit violence, on people who they would perceive as their rivals,” Insp. Josh Ewatski, who heads the service’s organized crime unit said, noting the plan was in the works for a while.

He said while there was no specific incident that resulted in the new push, but said violence — including stabbings, assaults and shootings — over the years is behind the move.

He said removing one criminal element from an establishment can have a big effect on safety.

“(Gang members) don’t differentiate between private areas, like someone’s house, or a public space, like a restaurant,” he said, adding other patrons sitting or standing near someone who is a target are at risk.

Under provincial liquor legislation, officers have the authority to remove people whose “presence creates a risk of violence or an increased possibility of violent conduct by or against that individual.”

Police will be working with bar and lounge operators to help them understand the requirements under the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act. Regulations say licensed establishments can ban gang identifiers and refuse entry to, or remove, those who do not comply.

Gang identifiers can be clothing or any other item that displays a sign, symbol, logo or other representation that identifies someone as a gang member or associate.

Ewatski said that won’t be the only thing considered by officers from the WPS organized crime and biker-enforcement units, as well as RCMP.

“We take the totality of information into consideration,” he said, adding RCMP and Brandon Police Service officers are participating along with members of the WPS organized crime and biker-enforcement units.

Patrons who don’t comply with requests to leave can face arrest or fines.

“Licensees are encouraged to ensure staff are familiar with their establishment’s policies and to apply those policies consistently and fairly. Together, these efforts are intended to reduce gang activity, help prevent violence, and maintain a safe environment for patrons and staff,” police said in the release.

Keith Horn, owner of the Northern Hotel on Main Street, welcomed the new initiative, saying: “Anything to get rid of criminal elements in any bar or business is a good thing.”

Horn said he wonders whether the approach will result in a relocation of the problem.

“If I’m going to a bar all the time, and I’m being hassled by the police or the staff, or whoever is there, I’m going to find a new place to go,” he said, adding police can’t be everywhere.

If a person is identified as a gang member by one establishment, others should be notified and limit their access as well, he said.

“If the police had the power to do that and say: ‘Look, you can’t enter any licensed establishments because you’re a known gang member… that’s the only way to do it,” he said.

— With files from Morgan Modjeski

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca