Greg Selinger today announced significant new resources in the fight against crime as part of a strategy that will work with police, communities, courts and all levels of government. Under this plan, Winnipeggers will see more police officers walking the beat downtown and in neighourhoods across the city, young people at risk will have more opportunities to avoid a life of crime, prosecutions will move through the system faster, and the province will work with Ottawa to make gang recruitment a crime, among other measures. “Manitobans want and deserve to feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods,” said Premier Greg Selinger, who was joined by people with experience on the front lines of crime prevention, from law enforcement to working with youth to teaching. Point Douglas NDP candidate Kevin Chief, who founded the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre, said “we will work together with everyone for safe communities.” Selinger’s plan will address crime with: Prevention, including: 50 more beat cops for Winnipeg; 25 more cadets for downtown Winnipeg; working with Ottawa to make gang recruitment a crime; launch a new program modeled on Chicago’s successful After School Matters; and build new jail facilities with effective addictions treatment and mental health programs. Faster Prosecutions, to achieve justice quickly with: a first-in-Canada weekend court; and more prosecutors and support staff to make the courts work more efficiently. Tougher Laws, including working with Ottawa to amend the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act, crack down on gangs, knife crimes, home invasions, carjacking and arson. The province will also fund 50 new police officers and 25 cadets in rural and northern Manitoba, expand the use of electronic monitoring bracelets in consultation with police, and add more special unit investigators to the Arson Strike Force, Criminal Property Forfeiture Unit, and for the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act. Selinger’s crime reduction strategy is projected to cost $13.2 million.
