Supporting Families + Preventing Crime

After the BlackLives4Justice rally that attracted somewhere between 15 and 20 thousand Winnipeggers on Friday June 5, 2020 I knew that I had a window of opportunity to act, and invite the many people who wanted to actually participate in change to do so. In my experience, I felt I didn’t act quickly enough immediately after participating in a large scale demonstration or event to move the masses. It felt like the necessary actions or steps that needed to happen and the roles the people at the rally had to fill to move the topic at hand forward at multi system levels was not effectively communicated.

My greatest joy in participating in the rally myself was that somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 people were alerted to anti black racism and told they had some unlearning to do. I am hopeful that this large group of people will be able to connect the dots between the shocking systemic racism identified at the rally, and the constant casual systemic racism that many Canadian’s look past. I was grateful that many of the speakers also spoke about how Indigenous people right here in Winnipeg are killed by the police frequently as well.

I asked my relatives on social media platforms: “if you could do one thing today in Winnipeg to prevent crime and support families, what would you do?” I got over a hundred answers from many people, some of which I did not agree with. But I am grateful for people sharing their thoughts with me and so I sorted all of the feedback I got into these 15 points so we can hopefully have a real conversation on how we can prevent crime in our city.

1. Increase civilian role in oversight bodies with investigative powers,  

   1. for Winnipeg Police Service in general - including people who are able to register as “observers” or “witnesses” to police misconduct, registered by an alternative body

      1. Option: Create an alternative body? 

      2. Preferred: Use an existing body/structure

   2. Police Board: needs investigative powers or to be eliminated

   3. Law Enforcement Review Agency & MB Internal Investigation Unit: there is a perception that these bodies are not impartial in any way. Prominent citizens, trusted by the general public should be appointed to direct this body

      1.  Explore The possibility of citizen suggested nomination process

      2. Possibly an election process

2. Policing Policy Review & Strategic Alignment

   1. Align municipal strategic planning with MMIWG report, TRC and UNDRIP

   2. Also align municipal, provincial and federal plans

   3. Have municipal services work towards crime prevention through social development, environmental design, harm reduction and restorative justice.

3. Demilitarize: if police are here to build relationships to keep us safe we don’t need them to behave like the army

   1. sell helicopter and tanks and donate proceeds to community based crime prevention 

   2. Replace war mentality with prevention

   3. Increase de-escalation training

   4. Increase consequences and scrutiny ANY time a gun or taser is used

4. Defund the police & Increase funding to  Community Based Alternatives: with timelines and citizen oversight, set a multi-year plan to shift municipal funds away from policing to community services and crime prevention related initiatives

   1. Fund these things instead

      1. bear clan patrol, street connections, main street project

      2. Increased mental health supports

      3. Increased addiction responses

      4. Safe 24/7 Spaces

         1. For youth

         2. for elders

         3. Elders & Youth together to learn and share

   2. Halt all recruitment for WPS as part of an intended plan to draw down the size of the service through attrition and layoffs.

   3. Resource & Implement 211 Manitoba

      1. Ensure it has 24/7 health and harm reduction helpers

   4. Regular community barbecues in every neighbourhood for free

      1. Purpose: bringing neighbourhoods out of their houses and getting to know one another

   5. Develop & deliver “How to be a good neighbour” workshops

      1. The same group could bring back the welcome wagon

   6. Implement and evaluate pilot of Health Buddies Winnipeg

      1. Begin by emailing volunteers and setting up a revival meeting

      2. Explore possible structures and partnerships with WRHA or non-profits

      3. Explore funding to compensate volunteers (and eventually create staff in future)

   7. Evaluate: please evaluate these things, all of them, and ensure evaluations are delivered by people who have lived experience with the topics associated

5. Internal WPS Suggestions

   1. Implement human resource strategy

      1. Include representative workforce targets

      2. Increased exit interview process for BIPOC officers

   2. Update officer training to include module development and delivery  partnerships with BIPOC companies that hire BIPOC trainers

      1. anti black components

      2. anti indigenous specific components

   3. Create Black & Indigenous Advisory Body

      1. Create temporary body/group to set 

         1. Goals - This temporary body would work towards implementing the STRUCTURAL changes needed.

         2. Timelines

         3. Budget will be diverted from existing police resources

   4. Initiate body cams immediately

6. Create New Team of Emergency First Responders: alternative to current WPS wellness checks, not quite paramedic. Likely for people who are in a mental health crisis or in an addiction or substance related distress

   1. not armed but trained in de-escalation, non violent crisis intervention and self defense

   2. Workers will be trauma informed, culturally safe, harm reduction, public health informed, anti-racist and healing centered

   3. Also be aware of neuro-diversity, poverty and Canadian history

7. Increase Supports for Our Relatives Who Sleep Outside (Homeless People)

   1. More transitional housing

   2. housing first strategy implementation

   3. Tiny Homes

      1. Work on municipal zoning barriers

      2. Work on private sector, social enterprise and education institution partnerships to build the homes

   4. Develop an alternative to displacing homelessness camps

      1. See the process used at Merchant’s Corner

   5. Find a new way to deal with landlords aka slumlords who don't fulfill their basic responsibilities to maintain their units or provide the legal minimums in terms of health and safety for occupants.

      1. Connect the slum lord list to E.I.A. somehow to stop the financial incentive

8. Decriminalize all drugs & increase addiction supports

   1. Work with province and federal government to advocate for a decriminalization of all drugs

   2. address current waitlist build ups for addiction supports

   3. more detox beds for women & women with children

   4. More safe and sober drop in hangouts for adults to socialize in a sober and safe ways

9. Increase Employment Supports: this reduces the likelihood that people will have to turn to crime because their basic needs are met

   1. More job opportunities for youth (youth opportunity program, indigenous youth specific program, hiring people who have lived experience with homelessness, substance use etc)

   2. implement basic income pilot project in Winnipeg neighbourhood with highest poverty/socio-economic indicators 

      1. Eventually expand by neighbourhood to support all low income neighbourhoods 

   3. Increase volunteer opportunities that help prevent crime

      1. Develop mental health benefits package for volunteers in the village 

10. Re-Evaluate & Increase response to sexual exploitation of young people 

    1. johns in the north end coming in from rich areas need harsher consequences

    2. Supports for the girls who are being exploited

    3. Increase trainings within winnipeg police service

11. Re-Evaluate (reconcile? lol) existing relationships with Indigenous and faith based groups 

    1. Increase partnerships between city-faith-indigenous groups (including equitable funding)

    2. Example: Thunderbird House & Youth for Christ

    3. Produce report on creating an equitable relationship with Indigenous groups that have been historically disadvantaged by shifting some of the benefits temporarily from churches to indigenous groups

12. Science

    1. Clone Mitch Bourbounniere

    2. Explore musical and harmonic frequencies that calm people down

13. Be a good human: Taking care of the “other” in your midst, 

    1. respecting your elders

    2. assisting the young

    3. feeding the poor on a real and tangible way

    4. listen to people who ask for help and get them what they ask for

14. Education

    1. arts therapy

    2. hiring more people from that community to teach in that community

    3. anti-racist history review

    4. More extra curricular education opportunities on evenings and weekends 

15. Other Municipal Related Suggestions

    1. Free transit: use transit to move people instead of as a revenue generator

    2. Curfew: implement city wide time for a curfew, decide upon neighbourhood patrols/bear can who will enforce

       1. Develop plan of where to take people at all hours of the day and night 

          1. Adult plan

          2. Youth plan

    3. Public bathrooms

       1. Establish public bathrooms in areas where public gathers

NOTE: on the term BIPOC, I recognize the problematic nature of this phrase and am currently trying to find terminology that is more appropriate to a Winnipeg/Canadian context. Here is a great article that explains this perspective.

This is not a scientific or academic study, I am literally trying to organize the noise on social media into something that resembles a system solution. I would love to hear if you think any of these are feasible or if any of these should be entirely removed from the list. These conversations are becoming more and more important as the momentum around “defund the police” grows, I wish for us to be able to have smart and possible goals set that we can move forward on as quickly as possible. Also, know that I am working within a number of institutions that provide health and social supports to families as well as trying to navigate municipal, provincial and federal structures to ensure the voices of community is heard in t he way crime prevention programs are designed, delivered and evaluated.

Thank you for reading!