When it comes to crime in Manitoba, the Statistics Canada report released this week shows that it is only getting worse.
What the report showed is that despite the fact that violent crime is decreasing overall across Canada, in Manitoba, almost all crimes went up including violent crimes. In fact the violent crime severity index, which measures the amount of serious violent crime in an area (crime such as homicide, sexual assaults, assaults, robbery, criminal harassment), was up 10 percent from last year.
The City of Winnipeg itself was ranked as one of the most violent urban centers in the country. Hardly a surprise given the almost weekly reports of gang related shootings and violence.
What is clear is that both Manitoba in general and Winnipeg in particular have a unique problem. While almost every other part of Canada is seeing a decrease in violent crime, the violent crime rate in our province is continuing to go up. While the NDP government likes to say that the problem of crime is one that is impacting every province, the reality is that it is impacting Manitoba and Winnipeg far more than most other jurisdictions.
In response to the latest round of shocking crime statistics for Manitoba, the NDP acting Attorney General, Gord Mackintosh, essentially indicated he felt his government was doing a good job and had done what it could do. If that is the feeling of the NDP government as a whole, then there is much to be worried about. What has become clear over the last decade under the NDP is that violent crime is only getting worse and it will not improve without significant changes.
The most immediate change that needs to take place is a new effort to crack down on the 10,000-12,000 outstanding warrants in the province of Manitoba. As well, the court orders that are put on individuals who are leaving jail or out on bail (provisions such as curfews) need to actually be enforced. These two measures alone would ensure that some of the most violent gang offenders in our province are no longer on the street. Not to mention the fact that the NDP refuse to cut off taxpayer funded welfare for individuals with serious outstanding warrants, meaning taxpayer dollars continue going to help individuals evade the law.
Once a significant crackdown has happened on those individuals currently evading the law or not obeying court orders, it will be easier to reach those at-risk youth who would like to make good choices. By working to ensure there is a stable adult in the life of every at-risk youth, those youth who want to make good choices will have a positive influence in their lives. It’s a model that has worked in other communities that have seen their violent crime rate go down.
Unfortunately, in Manitoba under the NDP, little seems to be changing except the crime rate, and that is changing in the wrong direction.
