Winnipeg Police Service Explained

Agencyname:Winnipeg Police Service
Nativename:
Abbreviation:WPS
Badge:Winnipeg Police Service Logo.svg
Badgecaption:The Crest of the Winnipeg Police Service
Motto:Building Relationships, A culture of safety for all (2015)
Formedyear:1874
Budget:$320 million (2021)[1]
Country:Canada
National:Canadian
Legaljuris:Winnipeg
Police:y
Local:y
Headquarters:245 Smith Street
Sworn:1355
Unsworn:562
Minister1pfo:Minister of Justice and Attorney General
Chief1name:Danny Smyth
Chief1position:chief of police
Stationtype:Station
Stations:4
Website:www.winnipeg.ca/police

The Winnipeg Police Service is the police force of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

History

When Winnipeg became a city, in 1873, an election was held to select the city's new mayor and aldermen. Those appointed decided to hire city officials, including a chief constable. On February 23, 1874, John S. Ingram was appointed the first Chief of Police of Winnipeg.[2]

During the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, most of the force was replaced with 2000 better-paid special constables, for refusing to sign a declaration promising to not belong to a union or participate in a sympathy strike, even though they remained on duty during the strike. The union was thus broken, and Chris H. Newton became the acting chief constable.

In 1972, Winnipeg merged with its eight neighbouring communities, causing their amalgamation, but still having eight police services with different uniforms and radio channels. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) contract for Charleswood and Headingley was cancelled, and that area fell under the inner city patrol area. On October 21, 1974, the amalgamation of the services was complete, and the remaining eight services formed into six districts. On January 1, 1975, all police officers in Winnipeg started to wear the same uniform with matching shoulder flashes that stated, "One, with the strength of many".

Police chief constables
pre-amalgamation
Police chief constable Years served
John S. Ingram1874–1875
D. B. Murray1875–1887
John C. McRae1887–1911
Donald MacPherson1911–1919
Christopher H. Newton1919–1934
George Smith1934–1947
Charles McIver1947–1953
Robert T. Taft1953–1965
George S. Blow1965–1970
Norman M. Stewart1970–1974

In the early 1990s, J.B. Dale Henry, a retired RCMP officer and former commander of the Manitoba "D" Division, was selected as the first chief of police not from the service's own ranks. Henry was well respected amongst minorities and sought to change and improve the image of police in Winnipeg. One of the most noticeable changes was the name for the police, from the "Winnipeg Police Force" (which it had been for 120 years), to the "Winnipeg Police Service". Another change was the addition of the motto "Community Commitment".

Henry also changed the department crest to the one known today and pictured above. The 13 golden stars on the badge represent the 13 communities that came together to form Winnipeg during the amalgamation in the 1970s, and the crocus is the provincial flower.

In 2003, city council approved a plan by the Winnipeg Police Service to go from six districts, to four. This plan involved three new police facilities. The new East District Station was completed in 2008, and the West District Station was completed in November 2013.[3]

Administration

The Winnipeg Police Service is headed by Chief of Police Danny Smyth, appointed November 4, 2016, succeeding Chief Devon Clunis who retired July 9, 2016. The three deputy chiefs are Art Stannard, Scot Halley, and Gene Bowers.[4] The service has 1,355 officers of which approximately 20% are on the front lines, known as "general patrol" (uniform operations). The WPS also has 562 civilian workers.

Operations

The Winnipeg Police Service headquarters is located at 245 Smith Street, in the former Canada Post sortation facility, in the downtown area. The previous headquarters was the Public Safety Building, built in 1966, and has been demolished to make way for the Marketlands development.

Organization

The City of Winnipeg is divided into four policing districts: Downtown, West, North and East.[5] Each district contains several generalized and specialized police units.

Specialized units include:

Fleet

Recruitment

Potential trainees must be at least eighteen years old with a high school diploma, and able to complete the Police Officer's Physical Aptitude Test (POPAT), which determines a recruit's physical ability. Training is salaried and takes 37 weeks consisting of classroom time, use of force and in the field training with assigned field training officers who supervise them while they carry out all regular duties. After this process is finished the recruit is inducted into the police service. After five years of general patrol service, officers may apply for specialty divisions like those listed above.

Winnipeg Police Museum

The Winnipeg Police Museum is a museum that displays the history of the Winnipeg Police Service from 1874 to the present. Pictures, equipment, vehicles and other artifacts are presented within the museum. An original 1911 jail cell from the North End Station is one of the highlights of the museum.[6] In June 2016, the museum moved to a new location inside police headquarters at 245 Smith Street.[7]

Criticism

A 2020 Angus Reid poll of ten major cities in Canada found that Winnipeg had the sixth most favourable view of police in their community, and the third least favourable view, after Vancouver and Montreal.[8]

Racism

From the years 2000-2017, the Winnipeg Police killed 19 people; 11 of those 19 people killed were Indigenous.[9] Mi’kmaq lawyer and professor Pam Palmater has said in response to this finding that “the statistics really confirm that there is a high level of police racism abuse and violence towards Indigenous peoples.”

The group Justice 4 Black Lives Winnipeg launched a petition in 2020 that calls for defunding and abolishing the Winnipeg Police Service. Their petition states, "No reform can come from these colonial practices.... The system must be rebuilt and include marginalized voices in the process in order to protect all BIPOC to this city's full capability."[10]

In 2022 and 2023, the Winnipeg Police Service faced widespread criticism for its refusal to search a city landfill for the remains of three Indigenous women who are believed to be the victims of an alleged serial killer.[11] [12] Community members, Indigenous leaders, victims’ family members, and family members of 2SMMIWG+ condemned the decision to not search the landfill sites during a press conference in Ottawa on December 8, 2022.[11] [13] One of the demands arising from the press conference was that Danny Smyth resign from his position as chief of police.[14] The Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald spoke about the Winnipeg Police Service’s refusal to search the site at the United Nations on International Women’s Day 2023, saying, “There can be no greater metaphor for how Indigenous women are treated and viewed in Canada than this particular case.”[15] Despite the Winnipeg Police Service saying the search couldn't be done, advocacy efforts led to the creation of an Indigenous-led working group tasked with evaluating the feasibility of the search.[16]

Budget

The allocation of Winnipeg’s municipal budget towards the Winnipeg Police has drastically increased since the year 2000. While the Winnipeg Police consumed 17 percent of the City’s total operating budget in the year 2000, by 2020 this had risen to over 25% with a police budget of $304.1 million.[17] [18] This represents the highest proportion of funds that the City of Winnipeg gives towards any municipal department.[19] In the same year, the City reduced funding for community groups, the maintenance of transit routes, and the Millennium Library.[20]

Advocacy groups such as Winnipeg Police Cause Harm, Justice 4 Black Lives Winnipeg, Police-Free Schools Winnipeg, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and the Police Accountability Coalition, which represents over 90 community-based organizations, have called for the funds allocated to the Winnipeg Police Services to be reallocated towards social services and infrastructure.[21] [22] A survey conducted by the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg found that Winnipeg residents are “three times as likely to favour spending more on poverty reduction than on investing in additional police services” in order to address crime.[23]

Officer involved shootings

On March 9, 1988, Winnipeg Police constable Robert Cross attempted to detain John Joseph Harper, believing Harper was an auto theft suspect.[24] According to Cross, Harper refused to provide identification, and was shot during a scuffle when he attempted to grab Cross's gun.[25] Initially, the shooting was ruled as justified by the internal firearms board of enquiry.[26] The shooting and other events led to the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry, a comprehensive investigation into the treatment of First Nations people within the Manitoba justice system. In 1991, the inquiry concluded that the WPS internal investigation was faulty and intended more to exonerate Cross than to discover the truth. The report recommended that officer-involved shootings be investigated by independent parties.[27]

Recent cases

On January 31, 2005, 18-year-old Matthew Dumas was armed with a screwdriver and was confronted by Constable Dennis Gbarek (a Metis officer). At the time, police were investigating a home invasion and Dumas was believed to be involved. The constable ordered Dumas to drop the screwdriver several times while Dumas responded by lunging at the constable and was shot. Dumas died from his injuries, It was later determined he was not involved in the home invasion.[28] Two reviews of the shooting were performed by the Calgary Police Service in August 2006 and by the Ontario Crown Attorney's Office in May 2007 at the Manitoba government's request.[29] Both reviews concluded the Winnipeg Police investigation of the shooting was handled properly. In June 2008, an inquest was held into Dumas's death.[30] The inquest's report, released in December 2008, ruled that racism was not a factor in the incident.[31] [32]

In July, 17-year-old Michael Langan, a Métis, died after being tasered by police. Witnesses had reported a youth breaking into a vehicle, and police encountered Langan several blocks away, allegedly wielding a knife and refusing to surrender. David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation, suggested that racial profiling may have resulted in police using excessive force, an accusation that Police Chief Keith McCaskill denied.[33] In August, Craig McDougall, a member of Wasagamack First Nation and nephew of John Joseph Harper, was tasered then shot by police responding to a disturbance call in the city's West End.[34] Police reported that McDougall was brandishing a knife, though family members have disputed that claim, saying McDougall was carrying a cellular phone.[35]

In 2020, 16-year-old Eishia Hudson was shot dead by Winnipeg Police after attempting to drive into police officers in a stolen Jeep.[36] [37] On New Year’s Eve, entering into the year 2024, police were called to the University of Manitoba to do a wellness check on a male experiencing a mental health crisis. Police state the 19 year old boy Afolabi Opaso was brandishing a knife, Opaso’s friends who made the call refute this claim. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/afolabi-opaso-vigil-winnipeg-1.7082929

Other incidents

See main article: Taman Inquiry. In February 2005, a truck driven by off-duty WPS constable Derek Harvey-Zenk, reportedly drunk[38] after having attended an all-night party,[39] rear-ended and killed Crystal Taman, a 40-year-old woman, while she was stopped at a red light.[40] The incident was initially investigated by East St. Paul Police. Harvey-Zenk was originally charged with "impaired driving causing death" and numerous other charges. In July 2007, however, Harvey-Zenk was pled down to "dangerous driving causing death" (a lesser charge) and given a conditional sentence of "two years less a day", to be served at his home.[41]

Public outcry over the plea and allegations that the investigation had been botched led to a provincial inquiry, which began in June 2008.[42] [43] At the inquiry, multiple police officers testified that they did not notice Harvey-Zenk drinking, leading to allegations of a police cover-up.[44] Furthermore, a waitress who served the officers liquor throughout the evening testified that she was pressured to not "remember too much" by the restaurant's manager, who was friends with the officers.[39] Officers involved in the investigation have denied they gave preferential treatment to Harvey-Zenk.[45]

Chiefs of Police

Chief Constables of the Winnipeg Police Force

Chiefs of the Winnipeg Police Department

Chiefs of the Winnipeg Police Service

Source: Winnipeg Sun[46] and WPS [47]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Winnipeg Police Service 2021 Statistical Report. 2021. www.winnipeg.ca. July 13, 2022. July 13, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220713212823/https://www.winnipeg.ca/police/AnnualReports/2021/AnnualReport.pdf. live.
  2. Web site: History & Formation. City of Winnipeg. 26 November 2013. 10 August 2007. December 2, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131202225407/http://www.winnipeg.ca/police/DepartmentHistories/. live.
  3. Web site: Four District Model. City of Winnipeg. 10 December 2013. 8 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131212232131/http://winnipeg.ca/police/fourdistrict/. December 12, 2013. dead.
  4. Web site: Executive Management Team Bios - Winnipeg Police Service. 2021-09-21. www.winnipeg.ca. en-ca. September 21, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210921153358/https://www.winnipeg.ca/police/AboutTheService/bios.stm. live.
  5. Web site: Winnipeg Police Districts & Service Centres. About the Service. City of Winnipeg. 26 November 2013. 8 November 2013. December 2, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131202223101/http://www.winnipeg.ca/police/AboutTheService/districts.stm. live.
  6. Web site: History & Museum Winnipeg Police Museum. City of Winnipeg. 26 November 2013. December 2, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224301/http://winnipeg.ca/police/Museum/. live.
  7. Web site: James, Randy. 2016-09-10. Heritage Winnipeg. 2016. The Winnipeg Police Service & The Winnipeg Police Museum. 2016. December 14, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161214171122/http://heritagewinnipeg.blogspot.ca/2016/09/the-winnipeg-police-service-winnipeg.html. live.
  8. Web site: Korzinski . David . 2020-10-09 . Policing in Canada: Major study reveals four mindsets driving current opinions and future policy preferences . 2023-03-10 . Angus Reid Institute . en-US . March 10, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230310180720/https://angusreid.org/policing-perspectives-canada-rcmp/ . live .
  9. Kristin Annable, “Most people who died in police encounters in Manitoba were Indigenous, CBC investigation finds” (6 Apr 2018), online: CBC .
  10. News: Thousands gather in peaceful protest at Manitoba Legislature to demand Justice 4 Black Lives . CBC News . Nicholas . Frew . 5 June 2020 . March 31, 2023 . March 29, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230329034205/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/justice-4-black-lives-petition-abolish-winnipeg-police-1.5601130 . live .
  11. News: Morgan . Modjeski . Police should reconsider decision not to search landfill for remains: advocates . December 4, 2022 . CityNews . March 31, 2023 . December 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221225224334/https://winnipeg.citynews.ca/2022/12/04/police-search-brady-landfill-remains/ . live .
  12. News: Samantha . Schwientek . Assembly of First Nations national chief highlights MMIWG at UN on International Women’s Day . March 8, 2023 . CBC News . March 31, 2023 . March 14, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230314010041/https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/afn-chief-international-womens-day-1.6772044 . live .
  13. News: Dave . Baxter . 'WE’RE NOT DONE’: Fed funds for feasibility study just the beginning, says daughter of murder victim . February 9, 2023 . Winnipeg Sun . March 31, 2023 . February 10, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230210033023/https://winnipegsun.com/news/provincial/were-not-done-fed-funds-for-feasibility-study-just-the-beginning-says-daughter-of-murder-victim . live .
  14. Web site: ‘WE’RE NOT DONE’: Fed funds for feasibility study just the beginning, says daughter of murder victim . 2023-03-10 . winnipegsun . en-CA . February 10, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230210033023/https://winnipegsun.com/news/provincial/were-not-done-fed-funds-for-feasibility-study-just-the-beginning-says-daughter-of-murder-victim . live .
  15. Samantha Schwientek, “Assembly of First Nations national chief highlights MMIWG at UN on International Women’s Day” (8 Mar 2023), online: CBC News .
  16. News: Hayes . Molly . February 4, 2023 . Landfill search for slain Indigenous women will be difficult but worth doing, forensics experts say . The Globe and Mail . March 18, 2023 . March 18, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230318161133/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-winnipeg-landfill-search/ . live .
  17. Web site: James Wilt. Abolishing the police is the only reasonable response to Winnipeg Police killings. 12 April 2020. canadiandimension.com.
  18. News: Jacques Marcoux. 16 years of Winnipeg budgets show gains by police at expense of other city departments. 21 March 2016. CBC News.
  19. Web site: April 12 . James Wilt / . Read . 2020 / 10 Min . Abolishing the police is the only reasonable response to Winnipeg Police killings . 2023-03-10 . canadiandimension.com . en . March 10, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230310180725/https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/abolishing-the-police-is-the-only-reasonable-response-to-winnipeg-police-killings . live .
  20. [Bartley Kives]
  21. http://policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/safer-schools-without-policing-indigenous-and-black-lives-winnipeg 4 Black Lives Winnipeg; Fadi Enab, “Safer Schools Without Policing Indigenous and Black Lives in Winnipeg” (5 Oct 2022), online (pdf) at 34-36: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
  22. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2020/09/24/community-coalition-calls-for-redirection-of-slice-of-police-budget Joyanne Pursaga, “Community coalition calls for redirection of slice of police budget” (24 Sep 2020), The Free Press
  23. Web site: Police Accountability Coalition – Social Planning Council of Winnipeg . 2023-03-10 . en-US . March 10, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230310180718/https://spcw.mb.ca/activities-and-issues/police-accountability-coalition/ . live .
  24. Web site: CBC News, J.J. Harper: 15 Years Later, 2008. . June 30, 2008 . December 5, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081205054857/http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/harper/ . live .
  25. News: Kaihla . Paula . Brosnahan . Maureen . September 11, 1989 . A death in Winnipeg . Maclean's . November 17, 2022 . November 17, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221117120508/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1989/9/11/a-death-in-winnipeg . live .
  26. Web site: The Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission, The exoneration, 1991. . June 30, 2008 . May 20, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080520003202/http://www.ajic.mb.ca/volumelll/chapter6.html . live .
  27. Web site: The Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission, Conclusions, 1991. . June 30, 2008 . May 20, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080520003142/http://www.ajic.mb.ca/volumelll/chapter12.html . live .
  28. Web site: Inquest begins into police shooting of Winnipeg teen. CBC News. June 9, 2008. June 13, 2018. April 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180412013558/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/inquest-begins-into-police-shooting-of-winnipeg-teen-1.718459. live.
  29. Web site: 2nd review supports Dumas shooting investigation. CBC News. May 4, 2007. June 13, 2018. April 22, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160422101233/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/2nd-review-supports-dumas-shooting-investigation-1.693330. live.
  30. Web site: Winnipeg Free Press, Use of force appropriate: Dumas Inquest, June 19, 2008. . June 30, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121104141121/http://www.canada.com/globaltv/winnipeg/story.html?id=a137140f-0b92-4f04-8a55-fb623ccf8a2f . November 4, 2012 . dead . mdy-all .
  31. News: No racism in Dumas shooting: inquest report . June 13, 2018 . December 9, 2008 . CBC News . May 29, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180529091755/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/no-racism-in-dumas-shooting-inquest-report-1.726859 . live .
  32. Web site: Manitoba Court Inquest, Manitoba Fatalities Inquest Summary , Dec 9, 2008. . April 19, 2011 . August 27, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110827111811/http://www.manitobacourts.mb.ca/pdf/dumas_inquest_report.pdf . live .
  33. Web site: Winnipeg teen's death after zap from Taser 'tragic event:' police chief. CBC News. July 24, 2008. June 13, 2018. May 30, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170530233511/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/winnipeg-teen-s-death-after-zap-from-taser-tragic-event-police-chief-1.742005. live.
  34. Web site: Man shot to death after Taser fails, Winnipeg police say. CBC News. August 2, 2008. June 13, 2018. April 1, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230401031815/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/man-shot-to-death-after-taser-fails-winnipeg-police-say-1.721591. live.
  35. Canadian Press. Native leaders call for inquiry into Winnipeg police after fatal shooting. August 5, 2008.
  36. News: Martens . Kathleen . Hobson . Brittany . January 28, 2021 . Family of Eishia Hudson calls for inquiry after Winnipeg police cleared in fatal shooting . APTN News . March 17, 2022 . January 28, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220128053009/https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/they-got-us-now-no-charges-laid-against-officer-in-shooting-death-of-eishia-hudson/ . live .
  37. News: Unger . Danton . April 8, 2021 . 'No child deserves that': vigil held for Eishia Hudson one year after she was shot and killed by police . CTV News . March 17, 2022 . April 1, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230401031745/https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/no-child-deserves-that-vigil-held-for-eishia-hudson-one-year-after-she-was-shot-and-killed-by-police-1.5380376?cache=%3FclipId%3D89830 . live .
  38. News: Paramedic, constable smelled alcohol on cop in deadly crash: inquiry . July 4, 2008 . CBC News . June 13, 2018 . October 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221006035303/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/paramedic-constable-smelled-alcohol-on-cop-in-deadly-crash-inquiry-1.727313 . live .
  39. News: Police officers 'drank a lot' on night before fatal crash: former waitress . July 17, 2008 . June 13, 2018 . CBC News . June 27, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180627150330/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/police-officers-drank-a-lot-on-night-before-fatal-crash-former-waitress-1.726523 . live .
  40. News: Taman inquiry a timeline . Winnipeg Free Press . August 15, 2008 . August 21, 2008.
  41. News: No jail time for ex-cop who killed woman in car crash . October 29, 2007 . CBC News . June 13, 2018 . January 22, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180122151742/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/no-jail-time-for-ex-cop-who-killed-woman-in-car-crash-1.632323 . live .
  42. News: Province calls inquiry into ex-cop's conviction in crash . CBC News . October 30, 2007 . June 13, 2018 . August 18, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220818004957/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/province-calls-inquiry-into-ex-cop-s-conviction-in-crash-1.643164 . live .
  43. Web site: Taman Inquiry into the Investigation and Prosecution of Derek Harvey-Zenk . August 21, 2008 . August 19, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080819034809/http://www.tamaninquiry.ca/ . live .
  44. News: Cop tells Taman inquiry he was too busy to notice colleagues' drinking . July 18, 2008 . June 13, 2018 . CBC News . August 18, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220818004957/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/cop-tells-taman-inquiry-he-was-too-busy-to-notice-colleagues-drinking-1.751816 . live .
  45. News: No conspiracy to protect officer involved in fatal crash, inquiry told . July 7, 2008 . June 13, 2018 . CBC News . December 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221202111228/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/no-conspiracy-to-protect-officer-involved-in-fatal-crash-inquiry-told-1.702408 . live .
  46. Web site: Winnipeg's police chiefs. October 23, 2012. March 4, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002011/http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/03/02/winnipegs-police-chiefs. live.
  47. Web site: Winnipeg Police Service :: UD :: History of the Winnipeg Police Service. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110928021317/http://www.winnipeg.ca/police/History/history7.stm . September 28, 2011 .

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