Winnipeg safety team officers spend 1st day of training riding buses

Members of Winnipeg's new community safety team spent their first day of training riding the city's transit system.

Team lead Robert Chrismas said the initial focus of the team, created in response to concerns about safety on Winnipeg Transit, will be learning about how the bus system works.

"It's a massive system, so they're out looking at how the whole thing fits together," Chrismas said in an interview Monday.

The first cohort of 21 officers will form the core of the team once they complete their training, which is expected to last six weeks.

It includes a month of provincially mandated peace officer training, covering the powers of arrest and issues related to the justice system.

The former Progressive Conservative provincial government passed legislation last year amending the Police Services Act, giving peace officers greater powers to arrest people. 

The community safety team officers, who will not be armed with guns, will be trained in de-escalation techniques, but will have the authority to detain individuals. 

But Chrismas hopes that won't be the outcome of the majority of the interactions between the team members and the people they encounter.

"We were looking for people with a social justice, humanitarian … orientation, but also the ability to do the difficult parts, the use-of-force parts, where necessary," he said.

"Because being out there in the street, they're going to be dealing with people who are in various states of mental health crisis and, you know, meth psychosis and things like that."

Two days of the first week of the course will include Indigenous awareness training, Chrismas said. 

Indigenous understanding

Before heading out on the buses on Monday, the team heard a presentation from Anishinaabe elder Barbara Nepinak, who said a prayer for them, and spoke about the varying experiences of Indigenous people living in Winnipeg.

"What I hope to see is that there's a better understanding and awareness of some of the challenges in the community," Nepinak said.

"Not only do I talk about mental health, but safety all around for people."

Roughly three-quarters of the estimated thousands of people living on Winnipeg streets or accessing shelters identify as Indigenous, according to the 2022 Winnipeg Street Census report.

Nepinak said she saw looks of "anticipation" on the faces of the team members.

"And in my prayer, I encouraged them to have that open mind and to be kind and to understand the other people's stories and their journeys."

Increasing safety concerns

Former Winnipeg police chief Jack Ewatski will lead the provincial portion of the peace officer training.

In addition to the 21 officers, the team includes two supervisors and Chrismas, the team lead. The City of Winnipeg is still in the process of hiring two support staff, for a full team of 26 members.

The 2023 budget set aside $5 million for the team, a campaign promise of Mayor Scott Gillingham.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, which represents Winnipeg Transit operators, has recorded an increasing number of safety incidents on city buses. 

In September, the number of recorded safety incidents had surpassed the total for all of 2022, with 201 safety incidents for 2023 compared to 130 in 2022.

That included verbal threats with weapons, attempted assaults and physical assaults. 

There were 88 incidents in 2021 and 86 in 2020.