The Wrap: Downtown and transit safety, human trafficking ring in Portage, Bharatanatyam dance, and Castillo’s performance

Crisis outreach services and street patrols are being expanded in downtown Winnipeg this summer in a bid to make the much-maligned area safer for residents, workers and visitors.

Mayor Scott Gillingham and Premier Wab Kinew announced a two-pronged approach they said would connect vulternable people with supports they need, and visibly increase security with additional foot patrols during festivals and events.

Meanwhile, the 21 members of Winnipeg Transit’s safety team have intervened in more than 1,000 incidents since February — and their leader says there’s a need for more feet on the street.

Three quarters of the incidents reported from Feb. 20 to June 30 involved well-being checks, in which officers helped people who were in need or distress and were possibly intoxicated.

A woman and six men face 65 charges including human trafficking, sexual assault and making child pornography, after RCMP broke up what they call a human trafficking operation in Portage la Prairie.

Police say a woman befriended two vulnerable 15-year-old girls and offered them drugs and money to go to different homes last year. The girls were locked inside and forced to perform sexual acts on men in exchange for drugs and money.

Investigators say they believe there are more victims, including an unidentified girl believed to be 13 or 14.

Tyler Searle reports on the investigation, the suspects, and the impact of the case on the community.

Considered one of the oldest forms of classical dance in the world, Bharatanatyam originated in Tamil Nadu, South India, nearly 2,000 years ago.

As the percussive beats of the mridangam, an ancient two-headed cylindrical drum, plays out the rhythmic backbone of the dance, the dancers’ movements tell stories from ancient religious texts, transported to a time when Hindu deities walked among mortals.

Arts reporter AV Kitching talks to Shylaja Ramprasath, who runs 16 classes a week at a studio in Fort Richmond, about her preparations for the World Indian Dance Festival in Greece next week.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker Sergio Castillo has sparkled as of late, going a perfect 12-for-12 on field goal attempts, seven-for-seven on extra-point converts, and setting some records in the last four contests.

Sports reporter Joshua Frey-Sam talks to Castillo about his renewed confidence on the field following the early-season controversy over his comments on new footballs that were embedded with computer chips (now removed from kicking balls).