Winnipeg’s mayor says he’s frustrated and angry after the news of four teens arrested for an armed robbery attempt.
Scott Gillingham told Global Winnipeg he wants to see more done to address repeat offenders in Canada, and has spoken with the federal justice minister on the topic.
The incident, at the Unicity Walmart on Tuesday afternoon, involved a pair of young suspects with warrants for multiple breaches of court conditions.
“The disturbing reality is we’ve got four young people — two of them 13 years old,” Gillingham said.
“(Plus) a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old who, by the reports, have court orders that they’re breaching … and this is a consistent problem, a consistent theme: individuals arrested for committing crime who are breaching their court orders.”
The mayor said governments are putting more law enforcement boots on the ground, as well as more money into youth programs, but there needs to be accountability for bad actors.
“We have to have laws in this nation that prioritize the safety of the public and prioritize victims instead of seemingly defending the criminal,” he said. “It has to change.
“Some of these people are just criminals doing criminal things. Sometimes they’re using young people — 13-year-olds — to commit crime. It’s not because they’re starving, it’s because they’re acting in a criminal way.”
John Graham of the Retail Council of Canada said many provinces, including Manitoba, have been advocating for changes and he’s hopeful the province will look into security guard training to expand their powers in cases of retail theft.
“You can have a basic security guard, but we believe there’s an opportunity for one that’s higher-trained — better able to respond to non-violent situations,” he said.
“Police services across the province are increasingly terrific…. Prosecution, even, in Manitoba is at the table, but they’re restricted by the Criminal Code.”
Graham said there has been some good momentum when it comes to cracking down on theft, but there are barriers that remain.
“We’re restricted by federal laws that are intended to protect privacy, but don’t allow us to openly share information amongst our retail community, and don’t allow technology that exists to be able to create safer retail environments.”
Flurry of retail theft arrests in Winnipeg
