Superstore, owned by Loblaw Cos. Ltd., led the way with more than 20,000 hours. Among retailers, it was followed by Walmart Canada (about 5,700 hours) and TJX Canada (about 2,900 hours), whose brands include Winners, HomeSense and Marshalls, and CF Polo Park (about 2,500 hours).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe value our partnership with the Winnipeg Police Service and are aware of their recent announcement,\u201d CF Polo Park general manager Peter Havens said in a statement. \u201cAs we review the details of this decision, our focus remains on providing a safe, welcoming environment for our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
TJX declined to comment. Loblaw and Walmart did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Data suggested some retail giants have spent millions to hire officers in recent years. The police service\u2019s hourly fees range from $141.75 (GST included) for a constable to $166.95 for a staff sergeant. The shifts count as pensionable hours.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel the amount of retail special duty has had a significant impact on our ability to fill those days where we need those members to fill those cruiser cars.\u201d<\/p>\n Fees go to the officer and the program\u2019s operating costs. The WPS has said special duty officers act only within their duties as a police officer, with participating retailers required to have their own loss prevention officers.<\/p>\n Bowers\u2019 memo said the decision to end retail special duty stemmed from a year-long comprehensive review of the overall program and was not taken lightly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make sure the special duty is in alignment with the core values and our priorities as a service, and make sure that we\u2019re operationally sufficient and have that capacity for core duties,\u201d he told the Free Press.<\/p>\n Bowers said WPS is one of very few municipal police services in Canada to provide special duty officers to retailers.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Winnipeg Police Service Chief Gene Bowers: \u201cWe feel the amount of retail special duty has had a significant impact on our ability to fill those days where we need those members to fill those cruiser cars.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Retail special duty will be scaled back Jan. 1, starting with Fridays, Saturdays, statutory holidays and major event days, such as sporting events or parades, that require significant police resources, the memo said.<\/p>\n The number of hours a retailer can book will be reduced by 50 per cent before a \u201cfull exit\u201d May 1, 2027, the chief wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve given the retailers quite a bit of lead time here to know that this is coming.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve given the retailers quite a bit of lead time here to know that this is coming so that they can make other arrangements as far as how they want to provide security within their premises,\u201d Bowers told the Free Press.<\/p>\n \u201cWe gave our members quite a bit of notice here as well to then look for other special duty in the future, if they wish to.\u201d<\/p>\n The decision does not affect non-retail special duty assignments, the memo said.<\/p>\n Cory Wiles, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, which represents front-line officers, could not be reached for comment. Mayor Scott Gillingham wasn\u2019t available to discuss the issue, a spokesman said.<\/p>\n Winnipeg Police Board chair Colleen Mayer, who was not available for an interview, was advised of the WPS review of retail special duty and the change, executive director Jeff Wiggett said.<\/p>\n The board is scheduled to meet with the WPS to review the change and other matters as part of its usual business, he said. Mayer reserved comment until the discussion has taken place.<\/p>\n \u201cWe gave our members quite a bit of notice here as well to then look for other special duty in the future, if they wish to.\u201d<\/p>\n Bowers said the program, which is not designed to make money, doesn\u2019t bring in a significant amount of revenue after costs are factored in. A 2025 financial report said special-duty revenue was $4.5 million more than expected, but it was offset by an increase in salary and benefit expenses.<\/p>\n John Graham, a director of government relations for the Retail Council of Canada\u2019s Prairie region, said the hiring of special duty support has been expensive, but effective for the few retailers in Manitoba who can afford to do so.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere that will leave us is with limited options, or fewer options, between a security guard and internal systems, and a greater reliance on calling police when incidents do occur,\u201d he said about the chief\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n Large or high-volume stores that hire officers frequently deal with theft, Graham said. Some also hire private security guards.<\/p>\n Police, in tandem with governments and the retail sector, have conducted a number of campaigns to try to tackle retail theft, which is considered a vastly under-reported crime. Reports of shoplifting decreased by 4.6 per cent in 2025 after three consecutive years of increases in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n The Manitoba government is working with the retail and security guard sectors to modernize guard training.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Graham said the retail council has approached the province to seek a \u201csecond tier\u201d of regulated security personnel who would have additional training and authority, and could take some pressure off police.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think the second-tier security guard may be a way of meeting the needs of more retailers\u201d in their efforts to protect staff, customers and products, Graham said.<\/p>\n Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the government\u2019s current focus is modernizing training for security guards for the first time in 20 years.<\/p>\n He said the NDP increased funding for police services and for WPS foot patrol officers who combat retail theft, and re-established a retail crime task force.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen some of these investments starting to show progress,\u201d he said, referring to last year\u2019s decrease in shoplifting reports in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n In response to the end of retail special duty work, Wiebe deferred comment to the WPS, saying the province doesn\u2019t give direction to the police service.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think the second-tier security guard may be a way of meeting the needs of more retailers.\u201d<\/p>\n PC justice critic Wayne Balcaen, a former Brandon police chief, said changes to the program give the NDP government \u201c10 months\u2019 notice\u201d to come up with a plan.<\/p>\n He said he would start by speaking to police chiefs about resources they require from the province.<\/p>\n \u201cI do appreciate where Chief Bowers is coming from on this because the chief\u2019s responsibility is to the city that he serves,\u201d Balcaen said. \u201cThe government of the day, the NDP\u2026 has known about retail crime for the three years they\u2019ve been in power and all they\u2019ve done is ad hoc initiatives and reactive initiatives, nothing proactive.\u201d<\/p>\n Wiebe accused the former Tory government of leaving the NDP, elected in 2023, with a \u201cpublic safety deficit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 With files from Erik Pindera<\/p>\n chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Chris Kitching Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2650465_web1_police-overtime-hours-per-week-e1787785276211.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWinnipeg police officers spent more than 50,000 hours doing special duty work \u2014 racking up millions of dollars in fees in the process \u2014 over a 13-month period from May 2023 until June 2024, according to data obtained by the Free Press.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"MIKE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4508565_web1_260806-drug-enforcement-0058.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Sign](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/newslettericon_biidaajimowin.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/chris-kitching-mug.jpg\")
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Reporter
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