Restaurant group wants Winnipeg police to remove criminal customers

Violent incidents at two Winnipeg eateries have a Manitoba restaurant association calling for action, in the form of a program that would increase police presence in dining rooms and see officers remove violent offenders.

The Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association wants police to take a more active role in the city's restaurants after a robbery in January and a double homicide earlier this week.

"We want to be able to provide all citizens whether they're out in the public or dining in restaurants the same ability to feel safe within the restaurants that they're dining in," said Shaun Jeffrey, the association's executive director.

The call follows a robbery at a Smitty's on Jan. 11 andtwo deaths at Johnny G's on Wednesday, when two men shot each other at the restaurant. Both men were members of the same street gang, police said Friday.

The association wants a model similar to one already in place in Surrey, B.C., which allows RCMP under the B.C. Trespass Act to conduct bar checks and boot out anyone with ties to organized crime. Jeffrey said a Winnipeg model could see police do random checks at restaurants, or respond to calls from operators.

But Const. Rob Carver of the Winnipeg police said routine walk-throughs at restaurants is a poor use of limited resources.

"I can't imagine anybody would think, if they're waiting for a 911 response at 2 o'clock in the morning, that they'd want that delayed because the officers were walking through a restaurant."

Unsafe to approach dangerous customers: association

Carver was skeptical a program like the association wants would have made a difference in the case of Johnny G's, where he says the people involved weren't openly wearing gang colours.

Const. Jay Murray, another police spokesperson, said it couldn't have prevented the Smitty's robbery, either, when armed people entered the establishment, robbed it and fled "almost immediately."

Jeffrey said the association wants to see a proactive approach to policing restaurants in the city. It's not always safe for restaurant owners to attempt to eject potentially dangerous customers, he said, and they won't always know who is and isn't a threat.

"They don't have that information or the ability to know that information to be able to make that decision," he said.

"They're not trained to handle these situations and nor should they be they're restaurant owners."

B.C. program called problematic in past

The Surrey Inadmissible PatronProgram is itselfbased onVancouver's Restaurant Watch, where staffcan contact police if they suspect a customermay be part of a gang or engaged in criminal behaviour. Officers can check a customer'sbackgroundand kick them out if they have any record of gang activity.

That program, and its accompanying program Bar Watch,havebeen around since 2008. But they've beencriticized by a B.C. rights group as problematic and a possible infringement of individual rights.

In February 2018, theB.C. Civil Liberties Association told CBC there's little evidence to indicate the programs are effective.

"They give such wide scope for discretion to the police," said program director Micheal Vonn. "They sit as police, judge and jury."

Jeffrey said he's not worried about profiling under the program.

"We need to look at this as a potential just to mitigate situations that might get out of control or stop situations before they happen, and then be able to have that ability to use that resource if necessary," he said. "I don't think it's an ability that's going to be abused."

The association has requested a meeting with Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman to discuss the proposal. A spokesperson for the mayor's office confirmed it had received the request and will consider it.