Murray outlines plan for ‘dramatic change’ to reduce inner-city violence

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/08/2022 (756 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Glen Murray is promising to combat violent crime in Winnipeg’s inner city if he’s elected mayor in the fall, spreading the responsibility across multiple city departments and other groups.

“I want to see such dramatic change it will make peoples’ heads spin,” he told a news conference in a William Whyte community garden Friday.

Murray’s strategy is largely focused on rejigging resources in existing city departments and services, as well as renewed focus on and funding for neighbourhood-based programs.

“It’s been a very tough week for a lot of people — particularly in the North End. I think every Winnipegger is sick of tired of a number of things: first, being called the murder capital of Canada… we also noticed a real strong pattern in the city, where when a murder occurs, it’s often reported… as having taken place in a known gang house,” he said.

“We all know these places where drug dealing, violence and crime are happening. Why, when we know the address of crime in our neighbourhood, are we not more effective at dealing with them? Why does it seem to take an act of extreme violence or murder before it’s dealt with?”

Murray, who was Winnipeg’s mayor from 1998 to 2004, noted the number of homicides in Winnipeg averaged about 20 per year during that period but have exceeded 40 in each of the last three years.

City departments, along with community groups and agencies, must be “mobilized” to help address violent crime, he said, outlining a wide-ranging strategy he suggested would stop violence in the short term and reduce crime in the longer term.

“The underpinning of every single successful crime, anti-murder program, every program that disrupted drug dealing and the economy of crime in these neighbourhoods, has started by consolidating the neighbourhood and getting eyes on streets,” he said.

He pointed to the work of longtime North Point Douglas community activist Sel Burrows and Darrell Warren’s William Whyte Neighbourhood Association as examples of successful and inexpensive community programs.

His plan includes:

• “Energizing” the city’s existing multi-problem building committee to ensure all city departments focus on gang and drug houses reported by “eyes on the streets.”

• Tasking community development staff to ensure each neighbourhood has an active residents committee and safety action group.

• Enhancing bylaw enforcement services with more officers to address “the fiasco” of massive numbers of unsecured vacant homes and frequent arson in empty houses.

• Improving access to recreation complexes and programs in the inner city to give youth positive activities to do.

• Ensuring the city complies with all bylaws on the vacant buildings it owns.

• Partnering with businesses and not-for-profit organizations to offer summer employment to inner-city youth.

• Working with school divisions and the province to improve school attendance and tailoring outreach programs to neighbourhoods with high student dropout rates.

• Connecting police officers with neighbourhood-led crime reporting initiatives to ensure a rapid law-enforcement response.

• Provide resources to Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corp. to organize the sale and redevelopment of land and buildings, while also acting as a trust to provide land for affordable housing initiatives.

Murray would not say whether the plan has been costed, instead noting initiatives such as rehabilitating vacant homes and selling land would increase city revenues.

He’s among 14 candidates in the crowded mayoral race. The civic election is Oct. 26.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera