Crime on Winnipeg transit dropped 15% during 15-week police safety initiative: data

Winnipeg police say crime was down on transit during the 15 weeks last year when a crime-reduction strategy was being trialled.

The Winnipeg Police Service says its violent crime intervention strategy – in effect from Sept. 17 to Dec. 31, 2025 – resulted in a 15.1 per cent decrease in total crimes when compared to the same period in 2024.

Broken down by category, there was an 18.2 per cent drop in violent crimes and 15.2 per cent drop in property crimes, according to the police data.

Police say there was also a 17.1 per cent decrease in calls for police service by Winnipeg Transit – from 1,259 reports to 1,044.

The initiative put an emphasis on “high-visibility policing, targeted enforcement, and proactive presence on buses, in transit corridors and at bus stops,” police explained in a news release.

Winnipeg police say officers spent 143 hours riding on buses; 101 hours on foot at bus stops and other transit locations; and 36 hours of marked cruiser car patrols.

Officers were involved in 442 separate “engagements,” which led to 12 criminal code arrests and 98 98 fare evasion enforcements.

Police say the crime-reduction initiative was implemented on transit following growing concerns and incidents of violence and disorder.

WPS Chief Gene Bowers told CityNews last week that police are continuing to patrol public transit despite the pilot project having ended in December.

“We have made some arrests on the transit buses, particularly in the Unicity area and it’s something we’ll continue to do,” Bowers said. “With our rapid response team coming out, that’s something definitely we are going to address.”

The WPS says “significant work is still required” to achieve long-term results, though Bowers previously explained the police service is not considering creating a transit unit within the force — despite calls to do so coming from Coun. Evan Duncan.

“There have to be some conversations regarding funding, and we’ll have to inquire further members to initiate something like that,” Bowers said last week. “Because currently we don’t have the members to be able to initiate a transit police arm within WPS.”