Anti-gun crime measures making difference: city police

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This article was published 13/07/2022 (798 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Beneath the spectre of rising violent crime, Winnipeg police say investigative efforts to prevent gun violence are working.

The head of the organized crime unit said Thursday investigators under his command, and elsewhere in the Winnipeg Police Service, have taken a slew of measures to combat guns in the past year-and-a-half.

Insp. Elton Hall also pointed to data that show gun incidents are largely decreasing.

In the first six months of 2022, there have been 65 non-fatal shootings, compared to a total of 177 last year — which Hall said indicates the city’s on track to have about 50 fewer by year’s end.

In the first six months of this year, there have been 101 fewer firearm discharge calls compared to the same time in 2021.

However, there have been 11 gun homicides so far this year, compared to 11 in each 2021 and 2020, and 17 in 2019.

“(That) number for me is a little high,” Hall said, adding police have determined a “good portion” of recent gun crimes were due to a conflict between two local gangs.

“Both these gangs were having issues with one another, so our guns and gangs unit proactively enforced but also intervened… to prevent any further conflict over the last three weeks, and I’m hoping that will continue over the summer.”

If trends continue, police may see five to 10 per cent fewer overall firearms offences by the end of this year, compared to 2021, Hall suggested, which would be a “really good statistic.”

“It shows that what we’re doing is working,” he said.

The moves to decrease gun violence include a board made up of law enforcement across the province, spearheaded by the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police, meant to prevent youth from getting involved with gangs, drugs and guns.

Hall said city police, Canada Border Services, the national firearms enforcement unit and federal firearms officers have also established a working group with provincial and federal Crown attorneys to address guns in the city.

“I’m very impressed with what each agency brings to the table, and the questions that are asked (of) the Crown attorney, who gives us instantaneous answers… Agencies go back onto the street to combat firearms on the streets of Winnipeg,” Hall said.

He also pointed to a focus on gang intervention for youth, working with community groups, as a successful move, and to efforts by the new firearms analysis unit to provide forensic intelligence on seized guns.

In January, a nine-month gun trafficking investigation led by the WPS organized crime unit spanning at least three provinces netted 12 arrests and the seizure of numerous guns, drugs and vehicles.

That led to a shortage of guns and an increase in prices in the past six months, police said.

A stolen or trafficked Glock pistol cost about $6,000-7,000 on the street, while a more generic nine-millimetre cost between $4,000-$5,000, in the six months following the big bust.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca