Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 23, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 100- 100 Princess St. | 204- 925- 4162 interiorillusions. ca Cannot be combined with any other sales or promotions. Some restrictions apply. SALE ENDS JULY 31ST Available at MONTH LONG Canada DAY SALE JULY 2 nd - 31 st 25 % off Barstools Medium Lobster Tails 4 pc $ 20 Fresh PEI Mussels 908 g $ 8 Medium Cooked Shrimp 227 g $ 5 Medium Sea Scallops 227 g $ 5 Large Breaded Shrimp 45 pc $ 12 Alaska White Fish Burgers 4 pc $ 5 Ahi Tuna Steak 170 g $ 5 Cooked Lobster Claws & Arms 680 g $ 18 Wild Salmon Burgers 12 pc $ 18 Vegetable Spring Rolls 40 pc $ 5 Chicken Fingers Oven Ready 908 g $ 6 Jumbo Garlic Escargot 12 pc $ 6 Two Bite Brownies 16 pc 400 g $ 2 Sweet Potato Fries 454 g $ 3 Large Shrimp Deveined 75 pc $ 15 Fresh BC Wild Sockeye Arrives Thu. July 23 Fresh BC Wild Halibut Arrives Thu. July 23 Fresh Manitoba Arctic Char Arrives Fri. July 24 L All stores closed Sundays . Expires Wednesday, July 29, 2015 596 Dufferin Ave. 204- 589- 3474 Mon. - Sat. 9: 30 - 5: 30 625 Pembina Hwy. 204- 477- 6831 Mon. - Sat. 10 - 6 6- 801 Regent Ave. 204- 222- 4672 Mon. - Sat. 10 - 6 1083 St. Mary's Rd. NEW LOCATION OPENING SOON AIR PLANTS I found it at my happy place! www. shelmerdine. com Your Source for Greener, Better Living! www. GreenActionCentre. ca TOP NEWS CITY EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204- 697- 7292 I CITY. DESK@ FREEPRESS. MB. CA I WINNIPEGFREEPRESS. COM THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 A 3 W INNIPEG'S overall crime rate is up while the national numbers have dropped to their lowest level in 46 years. The city's overall crime rate increased by one per cent, while its violent- crime rate decreased by three per cent from 2013 to 2014, compared to a Canada- wide three per cent drop in policereported crime during the same period. Coinciding with the release of Statistics Canada's most recent national police- reported crime data, the Winnipeg Police Service presented its 2014 annual report Wednesday. WPS Supt. Danny Smyth said a less than five per cent hike in crime rates is not significant enough to cause concern. " I really don't get too alarmed by year- to- year ( stats), unless we see huge, huge influxes. From my perspective, a steady decline, as long as it's showing over a period of time, I think we're heading in the right direction," he said. He admitted the police service's statistics seem " clear as mud" to the public, responding in particular to questions about how the WPS calculates its homicide- clearance rate, which for 2014 is listed at 100 per cent, even though there are still three deaths from last year still under investigation - two homicides and a fatal car crash involving a pedestrian. The clearance rate accounts for all crimes solved during that year, even if some of them actually happened in years past, the WPS said. So three homicides that took place in prior years but were solved in 2014 are included in last year's clearance rates, adding up to 100 per cent. Police said the practice is in line with rules set by Statistics Canada for collecting police- reported crime data. The homicideclearance rate is calculated by dividing the number of cases cleared per calendar year by the number of homicides reported that year. Smyth said the police service looks to crime analysts to help target its resources, and hopes to be able to hire more analysts - an area in which it's currently understaffed. The service has five crime analysts whose positions are paid for by the province. The 2014 annual report marks the Winnipeg Police Board's first full year in action, and its release puts some responsibility on board members to put the numbers into context, said Coun. Ross Eadie, a police board member. " We as a police board are asking the police service to develop different reporting mechanisms that have more relevance to what the dayto- day police service is doing. For example, when it comes to indigenous people, missing and murdered women, we're working at devising a good way to report the effects of crime as it relates to indigenous people," he said. Despite the slight drop in the city's violent crime, sexual violence was on the rise last year. The total number of sexual offences rose to 764 last year, up 62 incidents from 2013. The number of aggravated sexual assaults, the most serious of sexual offences, rose to six incidents last year from two in 2013. Smyth said the increase in sexual assaults may be due to efforts police have made with victims services and other organizations to encourage victims to go to police. " I'm not finding it alarming at this point, although I do think it may well be reflecting... the fact that people are coming forward to report an under- reported crime," he said. The report states 25 homicides occurred in Winnipeg last year, the same number as in 2013, and shows a 100 per cent clearance rate, noting the rate includes calculations provided to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Police also issued more mobile photo- radar tickets in 2014 than they have at any time in the past five years - a spike Smyth attributed to drivers still adjusting to reduced- speed school zones and police's use of " dragon cams," which allow police to " set up in places that they were unable to set up before. They can capitalize on angles that they couldn't do before," he said. The report shows 93,116 mobile photo- radar tickets were handed out last year, compared with 74,897 in 2013, while slightly fewer intersectionsafety tickets were sent out: 35,704 in 2014 compared with 36,211 in 2013. The top five reasons residents call police have remained the same for the past four years: domestic disturbance, well- being checks, disturbances, traffic complaints and suspicious- person reports. As well as being the No. 1 reason for calls to police in Winnipeg, domestic- violence incidents increased by 2.5 per cent in 2014, although the number of those deemed criminal decreased by 1.6 per cent over the previous year. As for increases in reports of property crimes, Smyth said people may be feeling more comfortable reporting incidents that have been under- reported in the past. " Certainly we've made it a lot easier for people to report minor property crimes. You're not having to phone the police and wait for a cruiser car to come and take the report. We allow people now to be able to report via the computer." Mynarski Coun. Eadie agreed and said he predicted a further increase in reported crime. " As the Winnipeg Police Service's rapport with the community increases, that means people have the confidence to report crimes. They're not going to be treated in a disrespectful manner," he said. Annette Champion- Taylor, volunteer program co- ordinator with the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association, said she gets the sense residents feel safer in the neighbourhood. " I think the community's starting to feel that other people in the city are starting to care and starting to acknowledge the issues that we have here, and a lot of people are willing to try and help," she said. katie. may@ winnipegfreepress. com Top five reasons Winnipeggers called police in 2014 ( list has remained the same, though not necessarily in this order, since 2011) . Domestic disturbance ( 14,985 reports) . Well- being check ( 11,543 reports) . Disturbance ( 7,991 reports) . Traffic complaints ( 6,329 reports) . Suspicious person ( 5,671 reports) Crime in city outpaces Canada Latest numbers defy national trend, but police unfazed By Katie May RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Supt. Danny Smyth outlines the annual crime report at the Selkirk Community Garden Wednesday morning with Coun. Ross Eadie. EDITORIAL: THE PARADOX OF CRIME STATISTICS / A10 A_ 03_ Jul- 23- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A3 7/ 22/ 15 8: 45: 16 PM ;