More police officers will be patrolling communities in eastern Manitoba as provincial sheriff’s officers take on full responsibility for transporting inmates to court and providing court security in the region.
“Our government is finding ways to help free up police resources and ensure police officers are able to actively patrol our communities and focus their efforts on crime prevention, intervention and investigation,” said Justice Minister Cliff Cullen. “Sheriff’s officers are already responsible for inmate transportation and court security in other regions and handle their duties with dedication and professionalism. It is a wise investment to expand their responsibility into eastern Manitoba as part of our broader commitment to public safety.”
The Manitoba government will invest nearly $2.5 million annually to hire 11 sheriff’s officers in the eastern district and assume responsibility for transportation-related costs, which will include several fleet vehicles as well as flights to communities only accessible by air. Sheriff’s officers will assume responsibility for transporting inmates to and from circuit court locations in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) eastern district and will also provide security at these locations. In the past, RCMP officers have been responsible for providing these services. The transition is expected to be complete in the next six months.
“Our focus is to keep front-line RCMP officers actively patrolling our rural communities and responding quickly to calls for service,” said Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy, commanding officer of the Manitoba RCMP. “The addition of 11 sheriff’s officers to transport prisoners and provide court security will ensure that RCMP officers are doing their core policing work and are there for when Manitobans need them most.”
The eastern district is bounded by Garden Hill in the north, east to the Manitoba-Ontario border, south to the American border and to the east side of Lake Manitoba. It includes communities such as Altona, Arborg, Berens River, Emerson, Garden Hill, Gimli, Little Grand Rapids, Peguis, Powerview-Pine Falls, Selkirk, St-Pierre-Jolys, Steinbach and Stonewall.
Sheriff’s officers are currently responsible for inmate transports and courtroom security in western Manitoba and Winnipeg, and for inmate transportation in the north. RCMP continue to provide court security in northern Manitoba.
The minister noted this investment supports the goals of the province’s Policing and Public Safety Strategy and the Safer Streets, Safer Lives Strategy, as it reduces extraneous demands on police resources and ensures RCMP officers are able to focus on front-line policing services in their communities.
The province continues to support other initiatives that reduce extraneous demands on police resources, which helps ensure more officers are actively serving their communities, the minister noted. For example, amendments to The Provincial Offences Act came into effect in 2017 to allow written evidence to be submitted to the court by police officers, instead of having to attend hearings and present their evidence in person. As a result, court attendance by police officers, including Winnipeg Police Service, the RCMP and other police services, has significantly decreased.
The Manitoba government also recently announced plans to invest $1.9 million to support the expansion of RCMP crime reduction and enforcement teams including a five-member unit for the eastern district. Crime reduction teams focus on serious, prolific offenders and drug dealers. The province’s investment will establish a new five-member team in the eastern district, a new five-member team in the western district and support the expansion of an existing northern team. Additional officers will also join the D Division Enforcement Team, a centralized unit targeting criminal organizations and street gangs that traffic drugs and guns throughout the province.
The decision to shift transportation and court security responsibilities to sheriff’s officers also builds on the strategic direction set out under Manitoba’s Criminal Justice System Modernization Strategy, which focuses on crime prevention and improving service delivery.
