It takes time to build trust on Winnipeg streets, community safety officer says
CBC News joined the morning patrol to see how officers do their job on buses and streets
Shortly after beginning his shift, community safety team supervisor Sean Berman spots a concerning situation.
After turning a corner onto Main Street near Alexander Avenue, he sees an older man talking to a younger woman near a bus stop. The man appears agitated, waving his arms and stepping in close to the woman's face.
"I don't like what I'm seeing here," Berman says, as he pulls over his patrol vehicle.
"She doesn't look super comfortable."
Berman calls for other team members to help, then steps out to talk to two people.
Within minutes, two more team members wearing bright yellow and black uniforms arrive. They begin talking to both people, to find out what they need.
This is the kind of work the City of Winnipeg created the team to do, as part of efforts to improve safety on Winnipeg Transit and the downtown.
The city invited CBC News to join the team on their morning patrol Thursday, to observe how the safety officers do their job.
Berman says their work involves building trust with people in distress.
"Sometimes it's a five-minute conversation," he said.
"In the past I've spent hours talking to people just to try to get them on a bus or off a bus. You know, people have a lot going on sometimes and you gotta unpack it a little bit."
After several minutes of talking to the officers, the older man picks up a duffel bag and walks away. With the situation seemingly defused, the team members continue talking to the younger woman.
"He claimed that they were together. She doesn't know his name. So we just kind of separated them a little bit," Berman said.
Hundreds of incidents
As part of a campaign promise from Mayor Scott Gillingham, the team hit the streets for the first time on Feb. 20.
The team members have the authority to detain people as sworn peace officers. They are also trained in de-escalation and non-violent crisis intervention.
According to the city, the team had responded to 464 incidents as of March 25, including well-being checks, substance use incidents, medical events and disturbances.
Team leader Bob Chrismas says in two incidents, the team's response saved a person's life.
With 21 officers — two of whom work in the city's dispatch centre — along with two supervisors and one leader, the team doesn't currently have enough members to cover the entire transit system, or the full day schedule.
Winnipeggers downtown told CBC News they feel safer with the officers out on patrol.
"I feel safe walking during the evenings at night, and catching the bus," said Marie Dumas.
Charles Knight, who uses a walker, said the safety officers helped him recently.
"I fell once and they helped me up, 'cause I can't get up by myself," he said.
Question of numbers
Chris Scott, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, says bus operators have had mixed reactions to the safety team.
While the team has focused its attention on bus routes running through downtown, Scott said drivers in areas of the city farther from the core have not seen much of the officers, although that is starting to change.
"I've had reports from operators, seeing them as far away as Kildonan Place or Polo Park," he said.
"So they are taking the steps to make an impact, improving safety on the service. But do we have enough people? [That's] going to be the question in the near future."
The Winnipeg Police Association filed a grievance against the city over the creation of the team, arguing they did not have the proper training to intervene in potentially dangerous situations.
The grievance is expected to be heard by an arbitrator on Aug. 12 and 13, but the city filed an application with the Manitoba Labour Board to settle the matter.
Chrismas says the city developed an app to help the officers track their activity, which he hopes will help prove the concept of the team and lead to more officers hired, and taking further pressure off the city's strained emergency services.
"In a lot of cases, they'll call it a well-being check, but it's a high priority, so that'll take a fire pump, an ambulance, maybe a police unit to check on that person. So in a lot of cases that could be us, instead," he said.
Over on Main Street, Berman and the other officers gave the woman a blanket, and offered her a ride to a nearby shelter.
The woman seemed reluctant to get into the officers' vehicle, but the team continued talking, hoping to gain her trust.
"You can't make people take help, but if you can help their situation a little bit, then as far as I'm concerned that's a job well done."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
