Realizing transformational change in the Winnipeg Police Service

Submitted to the Winnipeg Police Board in response to its call for written submissions to inform the development of the Winnipeg Police Service’s 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, this piece calls for evidence-based mechanisms to address the root causes of crime, as well as improved training, data, and accountability mechanisms in relation to the Winnipeg Police.

In formulating its 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, the Winnipeg Police Board (WPB) has “committed to transformational change and reconsideration of how policing is delivered, so that it is done in a manner that promotes trust, confidence, accountability, and public safety for all.”¹ Transformational change involves significant, fundamental shifts within an organization, impacting its strategy, structure, culture, and processes.

The mission of the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) is to “build safe and healthy communities across Winnipeg through excellence in law enforcement, protection and crime prevention” with the vision of promoting “a culture of safety for all.”² However, issues have been raised that call into question the ability of the WPS to realize its mission and vision, including:

Police workload: The majority (91%) of surveyed Winnipeggers believe police need to respond promptly to calls.³ The WPS received an average of 85 calls for service per hour in 2024. Citizen-Generated Dispatched events made up a large portion of police calls for service and have been increasing since 2019. Check Wellbeing was the most common event type. “Increased non-dispatched events, combined with stable total calls and dispatched events, suggests that policing resources are at a saturation point of events that they are immediately able to respond to.”⁴ Strained police resources point to a need for substantive redistribution of officers’ workload.

Trust and confidence in police: Public confidence in the WPS declined from 81% in 2015 to 58% in 2024; less than half (45%) of Winnipeggers say the police are doing an excellent or very good job, a decrease from 64% in 2019.⁵ Research has documented that Indigenous and racialized peoples in Winnipeg are most likely to not trust or hold confidence in the WPS.⁶ Those views are based on their everyday (racist and racialized) interactions with police, including use of abusive language, stop and frisk practices, and excessive use of force. Building trust and confidence with all Winnipeggers is essential for the WPS to be effective in its mission.

Accountability and Transparency: The WPS has expressed a commitment to “bias-free policing” and “ensuring that training and procedures are in place to maintain integrity in conducting police activities in ways that are fair, equitable, and free of bias.” In 2024 the Professional Standards Unit (PSU) received 93 complaints, only four involved allegations of improper bias. The PSU found that in two cases officers acted appropriately, and the other two cases were closed after complainants chose not to proceed with a formal complaint filing.⁷ On that basis, it would appear that there is no bias in policing in Winnipeg. But the research tells us otherwise. Heightening accountability and transparency of the WPS would go a long way in fostering trust and confidence in their work, including their commitment to bias-free policing.

Public Safety and Security: “Crime control is an impossible task for the police alone.”⁸ Yet, the WPS is the default call for people in trouble, one of the few resources in the city that operates on a 24/7 basis. When other resources are unavailable, people’s only recourse is to call the police. However, so many of the problems relating to public safety and wellbeing that police are called to manage are imbedded in the root causes of crime, including poverty and colonialism. Police themselves are increasingly recognizing that, “We can’t arrest our way out of this problem. We need other solutions that are addressing the root causes.”⁹

What is to be done? Community mobilization

“The answer to outdated service-delivery cannot simply be more public funding. To contain costs and ensure value for money, fundamental change is needed.”¹⁰

How a problem is framed will govern the particular ways of responding to it. For instance, the police-to-population ratio (officers per 100,000 population) has been decreasing in Winnipeg—from a high of 210.4 in 2013 to 164.8 in 2024.¹¹ These data could be taken as evidence that more police officers are required. Or—they could point to the need for reimagining and reconfiguring officers’ workload to make it more manageable. The way forward is to adopt a community mobilization model that prioritizes meeting the safety and security needs of all Winnipeggers.

The traditional model of police as “crime fighters” out to catch the “bad guys” sets up the police as an outside (militarized) force sent into troublesome communities to quell disorder. This model produces an “us against them” mentality and escalates conflict in police-citizen encounters, countering the ability of the WPS to support the communities it is mandated to serve.

In contrast, under a community mobilization model, police are situated as one of many services available in providing supports and ensuring community safety. Within this model, police are not the “default call.” Rather, making available other resources (mental health professionals, social workers, trained community members, community patrols) to respond to calls for help would better ensure people are getting the supports they need (e.g. with addictions, mental health issues, or domestic violence)—and lift the current burden on police resources.

Community mobilization also puts emphasis on reframing police-community relations and tackling racism problems within the organization. To realize its motto of “A culture of safety for all,” citizens need to know that they will be safe from harm when they call for help.

Adopting a community mobilization model would address issues plaguing police-citizen relations in Winnipeg in several respects:

Community-led safety initiatives: Police are but one partner in community mobilization. This effort should include a community-based crisis response that does not require the presence or intervention of the police in situations such as mental health crisis calls, wellness checks, and low-level disputes between community members. Several community-based organizations (e.g. Bear Clan Patrol, Mama Bear Clan Patrol, Community Safety Hosts) are devoted to promoting safety and security in inner-city neighbourhoods by means of community walks and providing comfort and supports to relatives in need. Expanding the support the WPS and the WPB have shown these initiatives by ensuring that they have the funds and resources to build on their work would reduce reliance on the WPS as the primary organization for maintaining public safety and security.

Crime prevention: Instead of buying expensive militarized equipment and technology, crime prevention would be better served by the WPS advocating for investments in social programs, community centres, and initiatives that address the underlying causes of crime, such as poverty and inadequate housing.

Training: Trust and confidence in police are heightened when the public knows that officers are well trained and versed in understanding the complex issues confronting so many Winnipeggers. Extensive crisis intervention training that equips officers with the skills to de-escalate situations, understand mental health issues, and interact effectively with diverse communities would ensure police are responding appropriately when those issues surface. This requires investing in comprehensive and ongoing training on topics such as cultural competency, unconscious bias, harm reduction, and de-escalation (rather than use of force) techniques. Such training is important for both WPS officers and police cadets (two-thirds of whom end up becoming officers). As well, police oversight agencies should incorporate anti-bias measures into the recruitment, ongoing training and education, and evaluation of investigators.¹²

Data collection and analysis: The WPS does not collect and analyse race- and ethnicity-disaggregated data on police stops, arrests, and use of force. But this will soon be required, as per Statistics Canada’s recent report.¹³ These data can strengthen WPS accountability and transparency and its goal of “bias-free policing” by more accurately identifying issues of social inequities, discrimination, and systemic racism.

Consequences for police misconduct: The WPS is bound by the City of Winnipeg By-Law No. 7610/2000, s. 18.01 that forbids Abuse of Conduct: “if a Member a. uses oppressive or abusive conduct or language towards any other Member; or b. is discourteous or uncivil to any member of the public.” More accountability is needed when misconduct occurs; the police “need to ‘police’ their own.”¹⁴ Examples in other jurisdictions include holding all officers on a shift accountable for the misconduct of one officer,¹⁵ or increasing the provisions for suspension without pay and revocation of a police officer’s appointment where serious misconduct is alleged.¹⁶ In Camden, New Jersey, if a supervisor approves an officer’s misconduct, they too are held accountable.¹⁷

Regulations and measuring success: Transformational change should include—as is being done by the Toronto Police Service¹⁸—a review and overhaul of Use of Force regulations, including placing restrictions on use of deadly force, chokeholds/neck restraints, and other excessive force tactics. Indeed, police are not armed in 19 nations worldwide.¹⁹ In these nations, consent rather than the threat of force governs police-citizen interactions and success has been redefined from number of arrests to the reduction of crime.²⁰

Winnipeg is not alone in confronting policing issues. In endeavouring to implement transformational change, much can be learned from work being done in other jurisdictions.²¹ Moreover, given that the WPB is responsible for allocating the Council-approved policing budget, tying WPS funding to change measures would better ensure that a transformation of policing in Winnipeg occurs.

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What is to be done? Community mobilization

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Realizing transformational change in the Winnipeg Police Service

What is to be done? Community mobilization

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