RCMP and Winnipeg police suspend anti-organized crime task forces and arrest warrants

Manitoba’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Winnipeg police have disbanded two of six of their joint units and reassigned officers to other duties amid stagnating provincial funding for the City of Winnipeg.

The Winnipeg Police Service and RCMP D Division confirmed Monday that they have suspended activities of the Manitoba Integrated Organized Crime Task Force and the Manitoba Warrant Task Force.

The Organized Crime Task Force, comprised of nine Winnipeg police officers and eight Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers, was created by the province in 2004. It is credited with disrupting the cocaine trade, seizing weapons and other measures to respond to criminal gang activity.​

“Combating organized crime is a national and regional priority for the RCMP and will remain so. The Manitoba RCMP has federal crime, serious crime and organized crime units in Winnipeg,” RCMP spokeswoman Tara Seel said in a statement, adding that the task force’s eight Mounties would be integrated into the other units.

“I want to stress that a strong partnership continues to exist between the RCMP and the Winnipeg Police Service and that our organizations will continue to share information. It should also be noted that ongoing investigations will not be affected by the changes (to the Organized Crime Task Force).”

The Warrant Task Force, composed of three Winnipeg police officers and three Mounties, was responsible for searching for and arresting people the province’s former Justice Minister Andrew Swan described as “high-risk fugitives” when it was created in 2011.

Changes after “long discussion”

Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth said in a statement that the decision to disband both forces was made “after careful consideration and discussion” with RCMP leadership. The changes will take effect later this month.

A spokeswoman for Manitoba Justice Minister Heather Stefanson said the province played no role in the decision by the Winnipeg police and Manitoba RCMP.

The spokesperson said the province replaced the earmarked funds for those task forces this year with a “unified basket of funds” for nearly all City of Winnipeg programs, set at the same total funding level the city received in 2016.

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said stagnant funding will cause financial problems for the city this year. The lack of inflation-related funding increases for the Winnipeg Police Service’s helicopter and cadet programs has led to a $1.2 million budget deficit in the Winnipeg Police Service’s budget, according to the city’s most recent financial report.

However, a Winnipeg police spokesman said the lack of resources was only one reason for the suspension of the force.

Winnipeg Police Board Chairman David Asper said his board had been informed of the changes and would discuss them at its next meeting on Friday.

Opposition disappointed

Swan, now justice critic for the New Democratic Party, expressed disappointment at the dissolution of the two task forces.

“It sounds like the province has put the city and the RCMP in a position where they feel they need to suspend these programs,” Swan said in a phone interview.

“Combating organised crime and dealing with people who refuse to appear in court after being accused of a crime was seen as a priority.”

Four other units, consisting of municipal police and RCMP officers, remain intact. Both law enforcement agencies provide staff for the Manitoba Integrated High Risk Sex Offenders Unit, the Criminal Intelligence Service Manitoba, the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System and Project Devote, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force.

“Both agencies have taken the opportunity to formally integrate their units to operationally respond to specific issues that are mutually beneficial,” Smyth said in his statement.

“All agreements allow partners and stakeholders to review, modify or withdraw from the agreements if circumstances or the environment change.”