Manitoba government to spend $265K on new police unit in Swan Valley region

The Manitoba government is putting up nearly $265,000 to pay for three new police officers in an effort to crack down on crime and drug trafficking in the Swan Valley region of western Manitoba.

The money will fund the Swan Valley general investigation section pilot program, the provincial governmentsaid in a news release Thursday.

"We know that local law enforcement here in the Swan Valley and in Swan River in particular have been working harder than ever before," said ManitobaJustice Minister Matt Wiebe during a news conference Thursday.

"Ultimately, that's what this is about, is keeping our officers safe and offering them the resources to do the kind of work that they want to do and need to do here in the community."

The Town of Swan River, the municipalities of Swan Valley West and Minitonas-Bowsman, and the Rural Municipality of Mountain have signed a new five-year agreement to establish a general investigation section in Swan River to help out local RCMP, the news release said.

The general investigation section will help with "complex and multi-jurisdictional investigations,"the release said.

Speaking Thursday morning, Swan River Mayor Lance Jacobson said the region has been "plagued" by numerous types of crime in the last few years.

Statistics Canada datasaysin 2022, the town's crime severity index a measure that takes into account how much crime is reported and the seriousness of the crime was nearly 3.5 times higher than the crime severity index of Manitoba as a whole, andmore than 50 per cent higher than it had been in Swan River five years earlier.

The crime severity indexfor Swan River in 2023 was14 per cent higherthan in2022.

Manitoba government to spend $265K on new police unit in Swan Valley region

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The province has pledged five years of funding to help Western Manitoba communities target drug-related crimes. An RCMP investigation unit will receive around a million dollars annually from various levels of government to crack down on crime and drug trafficking in the Swan Valley.

In response to the rising crime rate, the town and local business owners helped fund the installation of dozens of security cameras and bought a patrol vehicle to make rounds.

In late 2023, the town said it had already installed 20 cameras, and hoped to increase that to at least one camera at 84 different locations.

"We felt as a community, the municipality, including the Town of Swan River, that we needed to deal with this somehow," Jacobson said. "This was the best solution, we felt, to startbut we have a long ways to go."

Process has started: mayor

Wiebe said Thursday the pilot project will run for five years, after which the province will"reassess about future funding."

"I think that there is a real potential here for this kind of model going forward," the justice minister said.

The provincial government went to communities across the province to hold public safety summits, and the pilot is "one of those that's developed right here in the valley," said Wiebe.

"And now we're hoping that we'll see successes here and look at future opportunities in other places."

Jacobsonhopes to see the officers startsometime in early 2025.

"We want to have these people in place as soon as possible," he said.

"There is a process the town has to go through, basically an application process with the federal government to apply for this GIS[general investigation section] specific unit, and we've done that. The process has already started."

Wiebesaid things are "moving as quickly as possible with this unit."

Welcomenews for businesses

Wayne Gelsinger, owner of Qwik Stop a convenience storein Swan River said the business has been affected "quite a bit" by shoplifting, which hit a peak last year.

The store used to sometimeshaveonly one staff member working, but now it's not safe to do that, he said.

"It's the same select few people, over and over and over again."

Gelsingerhopes the new police unit will help his business.

"It sure can't hurt."

Joyce Readman, who is awarranty clerk at the Home Hardware in Swan River and a part owner ofa music store in the town, also said she's hoping that things will get better.

"Definitely something needs to change," said Readman.

Shenotices a lot of the same people committingcrimes like shoplifting, she said, andfeels like she'salways on high alert.

"It's just very scary," Readman said. "It's not the Swan River I grew up in, that's for sure."