Detailed data would clear the air

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/01/2018 (2816 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If the data are to be believed, deployment of Winnipeg’s heavily armed tactical support team appears to have soared sixfold in recent years, to the point where the body-armoured officers are responding to an average of 10 calls a day.

Police records say the unit was used about 500 times in 2013 and nearly 3,400 times in 2016. But it’s likely the dramatic increase is due, at least in part, to different reporting standards for the unit.

As far as the nature of the unit’s work, available data don’t specify how often the unit is deployed for high-risk situations, such as a gunman taking hostages, versus more routine calls, such as domestic disputes.

Without accurate information, rumours abound and some people assume the worst. Is Winnipeg experiencing a huge increase in dangerous and violent crimes that require a tactical team? Is Winnipeg moving toward a U.S.-style militarization of policing?

A police inspector told the Free Press the tactical team responds to high-risk calls, and also to routine calls such as traffic issues, panhandlers and suicide threats. The police say it’s cost-effective to keep the team on regular calls and send them to high-risk calls as they emerge. But there were no statistics available to break down the types of calls handled by the tactical unit.

This troubling lack of accountability was uncovered in a recent study by University of Winnipeg researchers Kevin Walby and Brendan Roziere, who acquired 540 pages of documentation through access-to-information laws. They found that despite two independent reports that five years ago chastised the unit for scant record keeping, police still don’t record basic information.

Detailed data on the tactical unit would be appreciated because police forces across Canada are increasingly concerned about the militarization of police.

One concern is the expense. In Winnipeg, for example, the new armoured vehicle cost $343,000, the Air-1 helicopter costs about $2 million a year to keep in the air, and the tactical unit consists of 37 officers.

As well as adding cost, the militarization of local police forces can harm the relationship of trust that is essential between police and the public.

A crucial principle of policing is that the public submits to authority as long as it is exercised justly and respectfully. Military equipment is used against enemies, however, and it would be a troubling turnaround for Winnipeg police and the public to consider each other as enemies.

Studies in the U.S., where the militarizing of local police forces is much further along, have found military gear and military-type deployment can make officers more likely to act aggressively toward citizens, sometimes inflaming situations unnecessarily. Consider, for instance, that a book on this topic by Radley Balko is called Rise of the Warrior Cop.

It would be unnecessarily provocative, and just plain wrong, to suggest Winnipeg police have become U.S.-style warrior cops. It hasn’t gone that far here, for which the public is grateful.

Winnipeg citizens can judge for themselves when police are on display as they monitor large public events where conflict is possible, such as protests, marches and rallies. Overwhelmingly, Winnipeg police at such events do a commendable job of interacting respectfully with the public while ensuring order is maintained. And historically, police here have done this work without the benefit of military gear.

No reasonable person would begrudge police body armour and more serious weapons in high-risk situations that endanger lives of police. But the public wants a clear accounting of the circumstances that necessitate use of the helicopter, the armoured vehicle and the tactical team.

The motto of Winnipeg police is “Building Relationships.”

A healthy relationship should include Winnipeg police providing reliable data to show the public they continue to use military-style intimidation only as a last resort.