“This is not new,” Smith said at a press conference Friday afternoon held in response to concerns about the incidents. “It’s concerning and certainly depending on how it’s reported it can really escalate things,” he said, referring to recent media stories of violent incidents at the national historic site, including a stabbing of a young Ukrainian refugee. Smyth said the police service plans to release its 2021 crime statistics report next week, which will show a 10 percent increase in calls for service last year compared to 2020. The report also shows that violent crime, particularly assaults with a weapon, is also on the rise, by 5 percent. Smyth acknowledged that The Forks is a special place for Winnipeggers and visitors to the city, but says it’s no different than anywhere else. “We’ve had stabbings there in the past, we’ve had homicides in the surrounding area in the past,” he said, adding that the number of incidents in The Forks is relatively small compared to other parts of the city. “We had 1,199 knife-related incidents last year, so to have five in this area puts it into perspective.” The police chief said he takes all incidents of violence seriously, regardless of where they occur in the city.
Recent violence
The historic site has experienced several violent incidents recently. On July 1, two men who recently fled the war in Ukraine were the victims of a brutal attack that left one of them stabbed in the neck and the other pepper-sprayed, according to witnesses. On June 29, police were called to The Forks Market just after midnight when two people were stabbed and seriously injured. A third person was also injured. Two 15-year-old girls and an 18-year-old man have been charged over the incident. Police say all three were among a group of six suspects initially arrested. Two days before that, police said a group of teenagers attacked a man and his daughter in an attempted robbery in a parking lot in The Forks around 8 p.m. The man was taken to hospital in stable condition. Two girls were arrested in the June 27 incident and police were searching for a third suspect at the time. In May, a man died after being stabbed at the park in The Forks. Police Chief Danny Smyth acknowledged The Forks is a special place for Winnipeggers and visitors to the city, but says the number of incidents at the historic site is relatively low compared to other parts of the city. (Travis Golby/CBC) Despite these incidents, Winnipeg Police Board president Marcus Chambers maintains that Winnipeg is a safe place to be overall. However, he admitted that not everyone feels the same way. “I need to validate those concerns and do a better job of working with the board and our services so they can feel safe and in the community,” said the councilman for River St. Norbert-Seine on Friday. Press conference. He wants to see a downtown safety summit where various groups can discuss how to fight crime and work to eliminate Winnipeg’s stigma as a crime city. Winnipeg Community Planning Council executive director Kate Kehler isn’t so sure a summit is the best option, but agrees with Smyth’s comments that crime is nothing new. Kate Keller, executive director of the Winnipeg Social Planning Council, believes that if we had a more just society, there would be less crime. (Tyson Koschik/CBC) Kehler wonders what the goals of a potential summit would be, but said the downtown safety strategy is starting to move away from over-policing that part of the city. “We don’t want to do a 180-degree turn back and go back to the way things were,” he said. “Let’s invest in the community and community-based organizations.”
Police will increase presence in The Forks
Smyth said police have met with officials in The Forks to address some of their concerns and police will increase their presence there in the short term. More patrol officers will be stationed at the scene, especially on weekends, he said. He also stressed that people should look out for each other and be aware of their surroundings. Kehler disagrees with more foot patrol officers because she believes the police are “triggering” for certain people and that the general public needs to accept the fact that society has allowed the situation to get as bad as it has. “There’s no way, unless we have five helicopters flying around, watching everything we do, that we’re going to win,” Keller said. “The police will be able to get to so many places.” While recent incidents have led to the arrest of several teenagers, Smyth said the report to be released next week will show that youth-related crime is actually on the decline. The police chief said he can only speculate as to why violent crime may be on the rise, but he suspects the pandemic has heightened emotions. “We’re seeing a lot of frustration and cumulative stress going on there, and I can’t help but think that’s contributing to some of the stress and some of the violence that we’re dealing with in the community right now.”
