Manitoba extending retail theft initiative

The Manitoba government is extending its retail theft initiative.

Premier Wab Kinew made the announcement on CTV Morning Live on Thursday, saying the initiative has yielded positive results.

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“Business owners have been saying they’re seeing a difference in terms of retail crime and retail theft going down,” he said.

“People in communities—the Exchange District, Osborne Village, other parts of town where this has been happening—have been saying they feel safer.

Kinew said the program will continue through the holiday season with the help of 12 new officers fresh from the police academy, along with some additional overtime resources.

“We’re trying to also respond to some of the concerns that were raised over the summer about work-life balance for police officers, being like, ‘It’s great that we’re able to do this with overtime, but we can’t rely on overtime forever,’” the premier said.

Business owners have praised the program saying it is making a difference.

But a survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses shows it might not be enough.

In 2023, 41 per cent of Manitoba small businesses said they were directly impacted by crime and safety issues. The number this year is more than half—52 percent, an 11 per cent jump.

Brianna Solberg from the CFIB said the problem seems to be getting worse, but feels the retail theft initiative is a good step.

However, Solberg said police response times are still too long, and there needs to be harsher penalties for repeat offenders, as well as addictions and mental health supports for chronic thieves.

She said nearly 80 per cent of small businesses don’t believe their tax dollars are being spent effectively on public safety.

"Business owners feel like they're left to respond to this on their own," said Solberg.

The provincial government began the initiative earlier in the year by funding police overtime to increase their presence in Osborne, the West End, and downtown areas. The goal is to curb retail and violent crime in the city.

Kinew said the province is moving in the direction of making the program permanent.

• With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagace.