Crime in Saskatchewan and Manitoba

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by WinCitySparky

This entire conversation thread has basically nothing to do with construction and honestly should be scrubbed from the board by the mods.

I lived and worked downtown Winnipeg for a summer in 2015 and hated it because of the constant fear for my safety. Downtown crime is a huge contributor to urban sprawl and the lack of construction for downtowns. I support this thread as Saskatoon also has the same problems with crime that scares people to live and work downtown. As long as people post things related to a change in policy that everyone in the MB/SK thread can potentially learn from,

In Saskatoon we’ve had people attacking accountants with hatchets on 2nd, and hitmen attempting to murder cheating spouses while leaving underground condo parkades on 5th - all in the last 12 months. Because of these things I’m very scared to live downtown Saskatoon right now. Our city is rolling out a few strategies that Winnipeg has done to help remove downtown crime because of these terrorizing incidents, but I’m really curious to know, what are the best crime reducing strategies you think Winnipeg is doing that could maybe be brought to Regina and Saskatoon? This is a great place to share what policies work, what don't, in all three of our cities.

We all seem to have extremely similar crime. We should try and strategize better.

[djforsberg]

Do you know how to cut down on crime? By giving people a reason to live. A meaningful existence. The reactive, punitive approach does not work. It’s easier to throw people in jail than it is to invest in communities and providing workers a livable wage but it does not accomplish the results we should be striving for as a wealthy, yet empathetic society.

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

Do you know how to cut down on crime? By giving people a reason to live. A meaningful existence. The reactive, punitive approach does not work. It’s easier to throw people in jail than it is to invest in communities and providing workers a livable wage but it does not accomplish the results we should be striving for as a wealthy, yet empathetic society.

Exactly. We might be launching a program here in Saskatoon that has people walking downtown specifically to talk cheerfully to the people hanging around on the streets, asking about their days, trying to make them happier. For people with mental health problems that may not be able to work, sometimes just having someone to talk to can make their days so much more pleasant. Apparently this strategy has worked in other cities to keep individuals with mental health problems more cheerful.

I’m also hoping this pandemic restructures social housing for these people.

With the launch of the new Google and App software integration that will let people know if they’ve been in contact with people with Covid-19, I’m hoping this integration will now be replicated with STI’s, and help cut down on the spread of HIV which leads to drug use resulting in mental health problems.

What are your favourite or most wanted strategies for your downtown?

[pacman]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

Do you know how to cut down on crime? By giving people a reason to live. A meaningful existence. The reactive, punitive approach does not work. It’s easier to throw people in jail than it is to invest in communities and providing workers a livable wage but it does not accomplish the results we should be striving for as a wealthy, yet empathetic society.

We don't need one or the other, we need both... no matter how meaningful the opportunities are out there, there will always be people who default to the easy, crime based lifestyle. For those people there must be a punitive option available to deter them... that being said, it would be better for society as whole for everyone (who wants them) to have options for a happy positive life. Jail and punishment will always be needed no matter how utopian society gets, its just human nature for some people to be bad apples.