‘We’ve needed this for a long time’: Community Safety Team celebrates one year on Winnipeg buses and streets

CTV’s Daniel Halmarson gets a first-hand look at the work of Winnipeg’s Community Safety Team.

It’s been just about 14 months since the city’s Community Safety Team (CST) first started patrolling Winnipeg Transit routes and downtown streets.

The CST was launched in February last year to address violence and safety concerns throughout Transit’s network.

“We’ve seen the need from people out there to bridge the gap between all of the other frontline services,” Christine Welsh, a CST supervisor, told CTV News. “We’re not reinventing the wheel here. We’ve needed this for a long time.”

According to the city, Welsh and 24 other CST officers have provided nearly 1,800 wellbeing checks during the program’s first year.

The city said that includes 20 incidents where officers used CPR or Narcan to revive an unresponsive person.

The team also responded to 42 calls regarding threats or assaults and 203 calls regarding disputes or disturbances.

Community Safety officers also helped connect more than 300 people to social services and other resources.

“I would say I’m inherently a compassionate and empathetic person, so this was just a natural fit,” Welsh said.

Welsh and her colleagues are trained in mediation and conflict resolution, non-violent crisis intervention, and community engagement.

“We’re deliberately bringing on people who have a compassionate approach, a social service background,” CST lead Robert Chrismas told CTV News. “So a lot of them understand these issues.”

Chrismas, a former Winnipeg police officer, said statistics and data from their first year show the team’s ‘moved the needle’ but added their true value is engaging residents and building relationships.

“My officers tell me almost every day they’re still getting high fives and pats on the shoulders from people,” Chrismas said.

The Community Safety Team was initially a campaign promise by Mayor Scott Gillingham during the 2022 municipal election.

“I said to the team that when they get on the buses and ride, and there’s no incidents – that is success,” Gillingham told CTV News.

The mayor and city council have already signed off on adding another 15 CST officers by 2027. Chrismas said that means the team will be able to patrol more streets and bus routes around the city.

“We’ll just continue trying to identify and address the problem areas, be intelligence-led, and focus our resources in the best impactful way that we can.”