View From the Legislature

On Friday of last week, I joined members of the Manitoba RCMP at their headquarters in Winnipeg for a press conference to unveil a new provincial RCMP policing initiative that has already garnered some significant results. At the press conference, RCMP Superintendent Scott McMurchy described how the creation of a Strategic Enforcement Response Team (SERT) would be used to help combat violent crime that has emerged in some rural communities in Manitoba.

The SERT relies first on significant intelligence gathering that can be provided by communities and the various law enforcement agencies. This is then analyzed for potential offenders and gang affiliations in a community that is experiencing significant violent activity. Search warrants, if required, are then obtained.

Following information and analysis gathering, an operational plan that bolsters local law enforcement resources with several other policing units is put in place. Then these resources can be strategically deployed as they were from July 20th to the 22nd in Moose Lake, following a spike of violent crime and street gang activity in that community. Over those three days the SERT executed several search warrants and warrants of arrest resulting in several charges and arrests being made related to drug trafficking and possession of stolen goods.

RCMP have indicated that they will look to use this model of enforcement in other communities that are experiencing spikes in violent crime and where they are able to obtain the needed intelligence to undertake an operation.

The RCMP Strategic Enforcement Response Team approach to enforcement is successful because it relies on two important factors. The first is the gathering of information and intelligence which is both obtained and analyzed locally as well as with law enforcement in other areas. Manitoba has, for several years, been promoting more sharing of information related to criminal activity between law enforcement agencies through the Manitoba Criminal Intelligence Centre (MCIC). The gathering of information is a critical part of any successful enforcement operation.

The second factor is the bringing together of policing resources. Local RCMP detachments are not always able to house the various specialty areas of policing. The SERT augments this by providing strategic and time-limited access to units such as Major Crime Services, Emergency Response Team, Police Dog Services, Traffic Services, Air Services, Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Teams and other local detachments.

The combination of accurate policing information and integrated enforcement is the key to the success of operations such as the one recently deployed in Moose Lake.

Violent crime is not limited to one province or one community. It can impact any area in a systemic and prolonged way. The ability to employ a strategic enforcement team provides another tool to rural law enforcement. I commend the Manitoba RCMP for this initiative and thank them for their service in support of the safety of Manitobans.