Taking action on youth gang activity

Opinion

Winnipeg has a gang problem. That’s not new in a city with one of the highest violent crime rates in the country. But the problem, including the negative impact it is having on youth and public safety, does ebb and flow over time and it appears to be on the upswing again.

There is a gang situation brewing in the city’s North End, according to Insp. Elton Hall, commander of the Winnipeg Police Service’s north district.

“We’re just doing our part to try and get crime down in the area, and help the people living there,” Hall told reporters last week.

Three recent shootings — one that occurred during the day in the 600 block of Manitoba Avenue in the William Whyte neighbourhood on Feb. 19 — and eight gun-related arrests have police stepping up efforts to thwart gang activity. Six of those arrests were gang members who police say may have been planning a shooting.

Winnipeg is no stranger to street gang activity and the drug-related turf wars that go along with it. It has been around for decades.

Police, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations have for years tried various strategies to combat the problem. They include targeted gang suppression by police and more resources for social programs and recreational opportunities to dissuade youth from joining criminal organizations.

Those efforts have at times been met with success. But a lack of a sustained effort has meant many of those measures have fallen by the wayside over time, or run out of government funding.

There are some existing programs, such as the Inner City Youth Alive which provides young people with a drop-in centre, a wilderness camp and training and employment services. But others, such as the Gang Action Interagency Network, have come and gone. GAIN had difficulty finding funding and shuttered its doors in 2023.

“Whatever we do, it has to be innovative because what we’re doing is clearly not working,” said Inner City Youth Alive executive director Kent Dueck, who founded the North End-based ministry almost 40 years ago.

Coun. Ross Eadie, who represents the area, said spending on leisure and recreation and diversion programs should be increased.

“It’s concerning to me,” he said of gang violence. “People are afraid, and for good reason.”

No single effort can thwart gang activity. It must be a combination of gang suppression through targeted policing, combating the drug trade that fuels gangs and addressing the socio-economic factors that drive some young people into organized crime.

Troubled youth sometimes see gangs as the only way out of poverty and a distressed home life. Proceeds from criminal activity, including illegal drug sales, as well as a sense of belonging to a gang can be seem like an attractive alternative.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said this year’s city budget includes funding for 36 new police officers and $1 million for new youth funding.

Matt Wiebe, Manitoba’s justice minister, said the province has increased funding for police and stepped up efforts to combat street gangs, including better coordination among government departments to address the root causes of crime.

“We’re tracking very carefully and closely what the gang activity looks like, what the picture is right now,” said Wiebe.

But is it enough? It doesn’t appear so. With the gang problem flaring up again, police, the city and the province must take a closer look at the problem. More funding and better coordination between them are necessary to combat this scourge in our communities.

Existing efforts are not enough.