Manitoba’s justice minister says the results of the Winnipeg Police Service’s annual report show the province’s public safety measures are working.
Matt Wiebe said Wednesday that the 2024 report — which shows a decrease in violent crime and crime severity — illustrates some of the progress that has been made so far.
“Manitobans know that to see real change, we must address crime and the causes of crime,” said Wiebe.
“Through our continued investment in front-line resources, collaboration with community partners and the WPS, we are seeing reductions in violent crime and crime severity in Winnipeg.
“We have more work to do in Winnipeg and across the province to continue making our communities safer and we will continue to do that important work across our government.”
Wiebe pointed to drops in youth violent crime, knife crime, and the addition of 12 new provincially-funded officers last year — with more to come in summer and fall –as positives.
“Our investments in the retail crime initiative and an increased presence in key areas have resulted in more arrests and an overall increase in safety for businesses and shoppers alike,” said Wiebe.
“The WPS (Winnipeg Police Service) continues to do great work in keeping Winnipeggers safe and we will continue to work with them to ensure that everyone, no matter where they live, feels safe in their neighbourhood.”
The 2024 report says violent crime is down for the first time in four years, with a 1.5 per cent drop in crimes including assault, sexual assault and robbery.
Property crimes were also down about two per cent, hitting their lowest numbers since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some stats, however, are on the rise. Police data analyst David Bowman says shoplifting, for one, has increased by 40 per cent.
“While shoplifting continues to reach historic levels, the proportion of these incidents escalating into violence is moderating,” Bowman said.
“Commercial robberies plateaued in 2024, with incidents involving knives down 24 per cent … and incidents involving youth down 26 per cent.”
Police said they responded to more than 770,000 total calls last year — about 2,000 each day — which represents a 12.6 per cent increase over the five-year average.
Well-being checks remain the top call for the fifth consecutive year, with domestic events, disturbances, and family trouble also making up significant proportions of the police call volume.
Bowman said the number of cybercrimes reported to police has also more than tripled year-over-year.
“In 2024, the majority of cybercrimes were fraud related, followed by child pornography and extortion,” he said.
“Among violent cybercrimes including extortion, uttering threats, and sexual offences, the median victim age was 20 years old. The most frequently reported victim age being just 15 years old.”
Police Chief Gene Bowers said while the shift in stats doesn’t represent a victory, it’s certainly a step in a positive direction.
“We’ve been in collaboration with the province, the city, the community, agencies like DCSP, our community safety team, justice, and Indigenous leaders and organizations, and we’re all working together to reduce crime in our city, and especially in our downtown,” he said.
March 2025 sees sharp increase in Winnipeg youth crime
