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A 10-day Winnipeg police crackdown targeting open drug use and trafficking in several neighbourhoods wrapped up earlier this month, and while many residents and businesses welcomed the increased police presence, some now say the same problems have already started to return.
Peter Ross and Cheryl Martens, who have spent decades in the city’s West End, say the neighbourhood still feels overwhelmed by addiction and crime, even after the enforcement blitz wrapped up on July 3.
Ross said he was recently attacked by someone who appeared to be in distress after he stopped to check on them.
“If they’re not on our street, they’re on somebody else’s street. It doesn’t make any difference where they are. They’re still being poisoned, and moving them around is doing nothing to help them,” Ross said.
“They’re trying to move people along, and they’re seeing the people as a problem. The people that are on these drugs are not the problem — the problem is the people that are selling the drugs.”
Martens said she hopes to see solutions to the complex problems like addiction that she’s seen change her neighbourhood.
“We want to make the neighbourhood be safe for everybody: for children, for old people, for these young people who are using drugs. We want it to be a good place for everybody.”
Peter Ross and Cheryl Martens, who have spent decades in the city’s West End, say the neighbourhood still feels overwhelmed by addiction and crime, even after the enforcement blitz wrapped up on July 3. (CBC)
Susan Lockhart, who runs the Just Like New to You thrift store on Portage Avenue, says business improved while officers were highly visible. But now, things may be worse than they were before.
“You name it, we’ve had it,” Lockhart said.
“We had one of our volunteers’ cars broken into. We’ve seen, you know, multiple overdoses every day, the thefts that are happening in here, the belligerence, the violence that we’re seeing inside and outside our store. We had a young girl who came in totally naked, looking for clothes,” she said.
Lockhart said she hopes to see all levels of government come together to come up with more ways to help people struggling with addictions and homelessness. If things don’t improve, she said she worries the store, which had been in the neighbourhood for over 20 years, may have to shut down.
“We love our customers and we love this community and we want to see it thrive, but we need some help,” she said.
‘Cannot tolerate illegal behaviour’: mayor
The West End Biz says Lockhart’s business isn’t the only one dealing with those kinds of issues.
“For what we’re experiencing right now, a regular police presence is critical and necessary,” executive director Joe Kornelsen said.
But he said tackling addiction requires long-term investment. And Kornelsen said he thinks “everybody knows that in the longer term … you have to address, you know, root causes.”
The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce released a statement Friday supporting the crackdown, but warned short-term enforcement must be backed by visible police presence, as well as investments in mental health and housing.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham says he would support the increased enforcement being extended and would like police to release data showing what impact the operation had as soon as it’s available.
“We cannot tolerate illegal behaviour, illegal drug use and drug trafficking in public spaces. We should never accept that, that that is the norm in Winnipeg. I refuse as mayor to accept that that becomes the norm,” Gillingham told reporters.
WATCH | West End safety concerns returning weeks after police crackdown:
West End safety concerns returning weeks after police crackdown
Some West End residents and businesses say problems have returned only weeks after the Winnipeg Police Service’s 10-day crackdown on open drug use ended.
“There’s a role for police to play, but it can be done in a compassionate way. And so my position hasn’t changed. We can both enforce the laws and be compassionate at the same time.
“I think that there’s a path for the police to be working more closely with the front-line service providers — and continue to, you know, crack down on open, illegal drug use.”
In a statement, a police spokesperson told CBC News they have compiled the data and continue to talk to harm reduction agencies. They won’t make any public comment until those discussions are finished, the spokesperson said.